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Board approves landline telephone system for Kermitage Springs School, citing student safety
Summary
After previous prolonged outages, the Clay County Board of Education accepted a single bid from North Central for a landline telephone system at Kermitage Springs School, saying landlines are more reliable during power or internet outages and that timely repairs had been a safety concern.
The Clay County Board of Education approved a bid from North Central to install a landline telephone system at Kermitage Springs School, citing prior extended outages and student safety concerns.
Staff presented a single bid from North Central, saying the vendor was effectively the only feasible bidder because the school’s service area made landline service the practical choice. The administration said they had considered internet-based (IP) phone service but rejected it because “if power’s out, Internet’s out, there’s no phone service,” and that is when the district most needs phone connectivity.
Board members recounted past outages, with staff saying the previous system had gone down and “we were down for quite a few days before they could get us fixed, which is unacceptable when you have too many kids over there during the day.” Staff emphasized the district hopes to have the new system installed before school starts, calling it “a major safety issue.”
A motion to accept North Central’s bid passed on a voice vote; staff said the purchase is included in the current budget and that the system is a landline-specific installation because of service-area constraints.
