Meeting came to order at 6:00 - In attendance; Lance Ridgely, Mike Wright, Rachel Burrow, Shane Wheeler, Kevin Curran, and Kathy Woolcott. Arriving after the meeting started were Gayle Hansen and John Coulter.
After reviewing the budget options the committee discussed the two different scenarios coming to the conclusion that the best option for the district is to lease over 4 years 92 computers and carts from Apple. As the group made this decision we looked at the following priorities:
Professional Development - teaching in a technology rich environment doesn’t just happen. Teachers need to be supported as they implement new teaching techniques.
Access - teaching in a tech rich environment isn't just about using computers. LCD projectors, audio enhancement, & wireless access are all part of the environment that make it possible to immerse our students.
Sound Amplification - this is a proven method of helping student achievement. All students are impacted by a hearing loss at some time during their time in school.
Infrastructure - expanding our technology “footprint” means that the supporting items need to be maintained.
With these items in mind the committee decided on the following itemization of the $75000 budget allotted by the board - listed in the order of priority as agreed on by the committee.
Purchase/Lease Budget amount
Current Leases: Middle School Mobile lab (final payment of $9700) and Teacher HP lease from 08-09 (year 3 of 4 year lease $9800) $19500.00
Switches and access Points $7500.00
Professional Development $5000.00
Teacher Laptops and portable labs
30 Teacher machines and 2 Admin Machines
3 Mobile labs with 20 workstations each $25930.25
Sound Amplification (6 classrooms) $6264.00
LCD Projectors $7000.00
Interactive Whiteboards $3000.00
Total $74,194.25
Another item discussed at length was the technology plan for the district. While the tech committee has talked a lot about vision and where we would like to be 3 or 4 years from now, those thoughts have not been collected and placed in a document. Mr. Ridgely agreed to work on this and have this ready for the committee and board by the end of the day on Tuesday.
John Coulter brought up a potential for a computer donation to be made from his workplace. The committee was interested in the potential - could these maybe be passed on to families that don’t have computer access at home? John is gathering more information and will be reporting back to the committee.
The meeting ended at 7:40. Mr. Ridgely will prepare a presentation to share with the board at their meeting on Wednesday. He will share this with the board and tech committee before the end of the day on Tuesday, so they can review the proposal in advance of the meeting. He will also update/edit the District technology plan to reflect the vision of this committee and the goals of the currently allotted budget.
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