By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays school board approved a pilot program to study the use of Chromebooks in the district at its meeting Monday night.
The program will include purchasing Chromebooks for students at the Learning Center, a middle school class and an elementary school class.
The total cost for 70 Chromebooks, licensing and teacher training will be $22,543.
The board recently approved the purchase of Dell computers for high school students. During that debate, some board members expressed frustration the technology committee did not present an option with Chromebooks. They thought Chromebooks might be a cheaper option.
Superintendent John Thissen said the real test of the pilot would be of the Google platform compared to the Microsoft Suite, which the district uses now.
Board member Sophia Rose Young voted against the pilot program, saying she was not convinced a switch to Chromebooks would save the district money. She said she was concerned about the cost of training on a new system. She said her employer, Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas has been in the midst of a conversion to Google since she has been with the organization. Some systems are still not converted to Google.
“This could be bigger beast than a little study on a laptop,” she said.
Thissen said the investment would not be wasted if the district decided not to transition to Chromebooks. He said the computers would be used in the district in some way.
Board reorganization
The board elected Mandy Fox, former board vice president, as the new president of the board. It elected Mike Walker as the new vice president of the board. Lance Bickle vacated the position of president after serving three years.
The board approved a number of other annual appointments, but delayed board president appointments so nominations could be taken. Those included Hays Recreation Commission, Early Childhood Connections Policy Council, Hays Area Children’s Center Board, Technology Committee and USD 489 Foundation for Excellence Board.
More on the bond
At the end of the meeting, board member Luke Oborny asked if the board needed to direct the superintendent to collect opinions from the public through town halls or a survey since the board voted last week to delay any action on a bond until January.
Board president Mandy Fox said she thought the vote last week directed the administration to do nothing until January.
Board member Paul Adams said he wanted communicated to the public their opinions are valued and there are many opportunities to communicate with board, including attending board meetings and speaking during the audience participation period.
Other business:
• Sarah Wasinger of the USD 489 Foundation gave a report on a dinner and auction the foundation will conduct on Nov. 3. Proceeds will go toward security upgrades at USD 489 schools. The foundation hopes to raise $50,000 toward the cost of the upgrades, which are being done this summer.
• Student handbook revisions were approved