The school board is considering spending $400,000 for better cell phone coverage at the high school. The spent quite a bit of time at the school board meeting on Monday night justifying this expense under Capital Projects. The question was posed at the 20:34 minute mark of the discussion session.
It seems as though there are land line telephones in every classroom, but cell phone coverage is poor inside the high school. While construction is being done at the high school, the school board feels that this is the time to install cell phone repeaters. Since we rely on our cell phones in emergency situations, the school board directors consider this as a safety issue.
The $400,000 cost is item number 43 on the capital projects list totaling $1.6 million, not totaled on the agenda. The Almanac covers the capital projects list in more detail here, Lebo schools to use $1.6 million for capital projects.
Ye Old Trophy Case is on this list. Dan Remely reminded the board that budget cuts are getting more and more difficult every year. Why is $75,000 being considered since it serves no safety, general maintenance, or educational purposes? The answer is that the capital fund is over $5.6 million. The school board is still considering how the trophy case will be paid.
If anyone is looking to file a Right To Know, the list of Capital Projects, including the top 67 items, would be a good start. This year's list is $500,000 more than usual.