Peru Elementary School District 124 Board of Education Technology Committee met April 5.
Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:
Present: Cindy Gustat, Mark Lamboley, & Jeff Sheppard
Absent: None
Others Present: Sherri Pannier, Melissa Bosnich and Sherri Pannier
The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Cindy Gustat at 4:02 p.m.
• Assistant Principal and District Technology Coordinator Sherri Pannier reviewed a detailed proposal for hardware and infrastructure needs for the 2017-18 school term. What was presented is reduced considerably from normal requests due to previous planning to allow for budgeting to major upgrades to the STEM lab that are still being developed.
• While the normal budget for regular technology upgrades and equipment purchases is around $100,000 annually, this year’s proposal is just under $54,000. This includes extending the 1:1 initiative to 3rd and 4th grades with Chromebooks that have been used at the older grades, as well as the purchase of 174 total new Chromebooks, several charging carts, and the replacement of several switches and UPS backups.
• The district’s migration to Chromebooks continues to be successful, with a 1:1 environment expected for students in grades 3 through 8 for the 2017-18 school term. This continues a trend to the utilization of Chromebooks throughout the district for students in the middle elementary grades on up. This approach has allowed for much greater cost effectiveness in that the same number of devices can be purchased for a lesser cost, and these devices are used constantly to enhance the teaching and learning process.
• After discussing and reviewing this proposal, Ms. Pannier and the committee discussed potential upgrades to the Parkside STEM lab. She shared options for the various STEM stations, and how this would be quite different from the PITSCO lab the district has utilized for many years. Committee members asked questions and Ms. Pannier explained which items were still in the development stages at this time. While this proposal needs more time to be developed, the administration is working toward having this ready for the Board of Education to consider at its regular May 17, 2017 meeting.
• After reviewing the proposal, the committee determined that it would make a recommendation for the full Board of Education to approve the purchases as presented, with the understanding that STEM lab considerations will come at a later date. The current recommendation will be presented to the Board at its April 19, 2017 meeting.
The committee adjourned at 5:21 p.m.
http://www.perued.net/vimages/shared/vnews/stories/4840c78b53c58/06.5%20-%20April%20Technology%204-5-17%20Minutes.pdf
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