D135 Putting 370 New Computers Into Schools (Live Blog Transcript)

Update, 12:10 a.m. Friday, June 1

Orland School District 135 schools are undergoing a technological overhaul that will result in new computers in schools, projectors in every classroom, use of fiber optics for a new phone system and other upgrades, according to school officials.

During a technology report at Thursday night’s district Committee of the Whole meeting, Assistant Superintendent for Business Services John Reiniche offered key points of the upgrade plans.

Among the coming advances are:

• 235 new desktop computers for primary schools and their offices
• 135 new laptop computers for kindergarten-5th grade classes, about 16 per building
• Gigabit switches, capable of moving whole gigabytes of data between computers and networks
• 100 more projectors to be installed in classrooms; over 150 have been installed so far
• All computers upgraded to Windows 7 operating system

Reiniche also pointed out that a new phone system, built to use an existing fiber optics network described as more reliable than the previous phone system, cost $75,000. The cost is paid once and is to replace the $50,000 cost per year of the former phone system, which had frequent outages, Reiniche said.

“The phone system is a good thing,” Reiniche said. “We can take that savings and put it back into technology.“

Reiniche said claims that about half of a $5.3 million grant had been spent on the new phone system are incorrect, with the cost being $75,000.

D135 principals are also testing out iPads to be used in classrooms, and combined with projectors and Apple TV could be a more cost-efficient classroom tool than smart boards.

“We have Apple TV here when we meet with principals,” Reiniche said after the meeting. “Each person can show how they are using the application in a really efficient way. Apple TV is something we are looking at closely.”

Original post, 5:55 a.m. Thursday, May 31

The Board of Education will hear a proposed health insurance plan for 2012-2013 that will include a 9.5 percent premium increase, Thursday night during a Committee of the Whole meeting.

The increase is necessary because of “very large stop loss claims this year,” according to a district memo.

The district’s insurance plan allows for costs up to $130,000 per person, and when that is exceeded, additional coverage is bought from a stop loss provider. The stop loss coverage is what drives up premium costs, according to the memo.

Also up for discussion will be a property and liability premium increase of 10 percent.

Topics up for discussion Thursday also include food service, wages, state and federal funding, work on 159th Street and others.

See the full meeting packet online.

Orland Park Patch’s live blog through Cover It Live will provide minute-by-minute updates from the meeting on this page starting at 6:30 p.m. Look in the Cover It Live window, and you’ll see an area where you can join in and offer your comments and questions. The same rules apply as on finished articles on the site.

The agenda is attached for what will be discussed tonight. Leading up to the meeting, let me know if there's anything you particularly want to know about in the comments.

Sign up for Orland Park Patch breaking news alerts and follow us on Facebook. 

Looking for more Orland School District 135 stories?