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Lowell Area Schools approves purchase of three ShopBot CNC machines for career‑tech classes
Summary
The Lowell Area Schools Board of Education on July 14 approved buying three ShopBot CNC machines for the district’s shop classes using a Lowell Community Fund grant; the board cited equipment failures, consistency with existing machines and use in multiple classes.
The Lowell Area Schools Board of Education on July 14 approved the purchase of three ShopBot computer‑numerical‑control (CNC) machines for high‑school shop and related classes at a total cost of $44,440.70.
District staff said the machines will replace three aging units that are “breaking down, difficult to use,” and that matching the brand of an existing ShopBot in the Home Essentials class will simplify maintenance and spare‑part management. Sonya, a district staff member presenting the item, said the machines are available through the TIPS purchasing consortium, allowing the district to rely on that cooperative contract rather than run a separate bid process.
Nut graf: The board’s action formalizes a plan to keep the district’s shop and STEM offerings current and to use grant funding to avoid tapping general operating funds. The board approved the purchase by voice vote after a short discussion about classroom use and parts availability.
Tony Ellis, the district’s shop teacher, described classroom uses and curricular connections for the machines. “I try to integrate math as much as possible into the classroom,” Ellis said, explaining that students use coordinate systems and geometric plotting when designing projects on CNC equipment. He told the board nearly all of his classes use the machines in some form during the year.
Presenters said the district plans to buy three new units to replace aging machines that have become difficult to repair because parts are not readily available from the previous supplier. Sonya told the board the old machines’ parts source in Canada declined to repurchase the old units. The new machines are from ShopBot Tools and were requested because they match an existing shop machine.
Board members discussed how the machines are used by multiple courses and extracurricular groups; the shop teacher and another staff member said the equipment supports engineering, robotics and fabrication lessons as well as industry‑aligned software skills.
District staff said the purchase will be paid from a Lowell Community Fund grant; presenters stated the grant would “cover these machines as well as some other incidental costs,” but the meeting record contained inconsistent references to the grant amount. The motion on the floor described only the purchase price of $44,440.70. The board approved the purchase by voice vote. There was no roll‑call tally recorded in the meeting minutes.
Ending: District staff said the new equipment will be integrated into shop courses and made available to other classes that teach engineering and design software. Board members thanked the Lowell Community Fund for supporting career‑technical education.
