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Board OKs $1.24 million elementary audio-visual / paging system; cameras left for later phase
Summary
Marshalltown board approved a $1,242,303.58 quote to upgrade paging, bells and classroom audio in all elementary schools; the board declined adding classroom cameras now to reduce summer installation complexity and cost.
The Marshalltown Community School District board voted Feb. 10 to approve a $1,242,303.58 contract to install audio enhancement systems—paging, bells, intercom and classroom audio—across the district’s elementary schools, with classroom camera expansion deferred to a later phase.
Superintendent Dr. Theron Schutte and technology staff said many elementary buildings lacked consistent intercom and hall/ gym paging, a situation they called a safety and operational gap. The approved package, delivered by Audio Enhancement through Bloom, includes classroom audio amplification, building-wide paging and prerecorded drill functionality. The system was described as scalable to add classroom-view cameras later, but the district recommended postponing camera installs this summer to limit the number of IP devices and switches to commission during a busy construction and deployment season.
Audio Enhancement regional director Emma Washbush presented system capabilities: prerecorded drill templates, live announcements from anywhere in the district network, integrated bell/paging across gyms and cafeterias, and future integration options with security-camera feeds. District staff stressed the phased approach was chosen to ensure reliable summer deployment and to reduce training and network workload for IT staff.
Board action: The motion to approve the Audio Enhancement quote from Bloom for $1,242,303.58 carried (voice vote recorded as 6–0 in the transcript); one board member was recorded as abstaining on a later financial item but the audiovisual motion passed. The board instructed staff to proceed with summer installation scheduling and to return with a camera-phase plan if budgets and IT capacity permit.
Ending: District leaders said the system will provide consistent bell and paging functions long requested by elementary principals, add safety features such as layered prerecorded emergency communications, and create a technology backbone that could support classroom cameras in a later, funded phase.
