Some technology upgrades will soon be coming to Eastern Pulaski Community School buildings. The school board Monday approved the purchase of 85 IW2 Wireless Interactive Whiteboard Systems.
Superintendent Dan Foster says the system uses equipment that’s already in the classrooms, “It can take any whiteboard and projector and computer, and turn it into a wireless smart board, basically.”
He says buying a system that uses the existing technology will save the corporation some money, “That was about a hundred and fifty-some dollars each, so it was 12-thousand-some dollars [total], which, if we went out and tried to buy $12,000-13,000 worth of whiteboards or actual Smart Boards or Promethean Boards or whatever, we’d probably only be able to purchase about 10 to 15 of those, so to be able to get 85 of these is pretty neat.”
The technology upgrades aren’t just limited to learning tools. School board members also agreed to an upgrade designed to keep students a little bit safer, by approving a bid for fire alarm systems for two of of the corporation’s buildings. Foster says the approval comes after they had some difficulty getting bids in the spring, “We only received one bid, and we were not overly pleased with that bid, so it was rejected. We rebid that project and the bids came in, and the board awarded the board awarded the bid to ESCO Communications to take care of the fire alarm systems.”
He says rebidding paid off for the corporation, “The total package on that for two buildings was $512,000, and the original first bid was $596,000. So, it cost us a couple months, but we are saving $84,000 out of that.”
Foster says the cost will be covered with funds from a November 2014 general obligation bond.
