Council Rock finance committee to buy 167 smart panels for elementary classrooms

The Council Rock School District finance committee reviewed a planned purchase of 167 smart panels for elementary classrooms, a budgeted item totaling $586,553.45 including installation.

The purchase would place a smart panel in every elementary classroom and eliminate projectors in those rooms, the district said. Anthony Rapp, the district's director of business administration, described the purchase as part of the 2024-25 budget and said the panels match units installed during recent renovations so the district maintains a consistent technology platform.

Rapp said the district has already installed smart panels in several schools and that this purchase "would put a smart panel in every classroom in the elementary school." He told the committee the procurement is included in the current budget and the panels match technology already used elsewhere in the district.

Superintendent Andy Schenkow and other board members discussed lifecycle concerns and said the administration is developing a five-year technology plan to avoid large, simultaneous replacement costs. Board members asked for more precise life-expectancy data; Rapp said the district would provide that information, and IT staff noted some existing panels have been in use for at least six years without reported failures.

Committee members also discussed prior, emergency spending to replace Promethean and other older boards in high schools and some elementary classrooms; Rapp said about $350,000 was used two years ago to address failing units at the high schools. The new purchase seeks to standardize panels so replacements and support are consistent across buildings.

Next steps include finalizing procurement details and scheduling installations to avoid disrupting the school day; the administration said it expects installation to be completed by the end of the school year and will return to the board with any additional life-cycle cost information requested.