By Heather Graves
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – The school district will start off the 2019-20 school year with some new technology its some of its classrooms – this after the school board approved the spending of $900,970 for the purchase of computers for the district during its special board meeting Monday, June 3.
District staff said the computers are needed for the district Business and Technology Education labs at the middle and high school levels.
“The existing equipment performs poorly given the demands of the curriculum,” said Diane Doersch, chief technology and information officer. “These classes need computers with more capabilities.”
District staff solicited bids for the computers from five vendors – and received four responses.
The board also approved the purchase of 600 monitors through Dell at a price of $53,970.
It also approved the purchase of 600 HP Elite Desk 705 G4 desktops (a Project Lead the Way certified computer), through CDW-G of Chicago for $519,154.
Staff predict a four- to five-year usage life of the computers in the labs.
Doersch said computers currently in the labs will be reutilized throughout the district for other uses.
In addition, board members approved the purchasing of 1,000 Chromebooks, with a three-year accidental damage protection warranty, from Technology Resource Advisors of Milwaukee for $328,000 for the district’s elementary schools.
District staff said the purchase is needed to supplement the elementary Chromebook fleet in advance of a larger replacement planned for the 2020-21 school year.
Doersch said Chromebook technology has rapidly improved over the past three years since the initial set of elementary Chromebook devices were purchased.
Red Smith referendum project work awarded
Board members awarded the bid for referendum project work for Red Smith K-8 School to IEI General Contractors in the amount of $2,349,316.
The renovation work includes the construction of an addition of eight classrooms increasing student capacity to 1,105.
Funding for the project will come from the April 2017 referendum.
Completion is expected for fall 2019.
New associate principal at Lombardi
Board members approved the transfer of Timothy Larsen, social studies teacher at Preble High School to Associate Principal at Lombardi Middle School effective Aug. 1.
Larsen has been with the district since August 2009.
He obtained his educational administration degree from Concordia University Wisconsin.