Board approves network storage purchase; superintendent details band uniform, vehicles and facility upgrades

The East Aurora School District 131 board approved the purchase of a Lenovo DE 6,000 H network storage device from Qubit Networks for $52,075 and heard several superintendent-funded facility and equipment proposals during its May 5 meeting.

Andy Allen, district technology staff, described the need to centralize video-surveillance storage because many building servers date to 2017. He said the proposed device would consolidate surveillance storage on-site and simplify administration. “We have all of them on one site, which allows us to do all the settings, make everything the same, give permissions, access, everything is centrally controlled,” Allen said.

The motion to approve the $52,075 purchase from Qubit Networks was moved and seconded and passed by roll call.

Superintendent and staff updates included: - Band uniforms: Michael Engel said the district solicited quotes for 400 East High band uniforms. Three vendors responded (Dimulan Uniform, McCormick’s Net Uniform, and FJM Uniform). The committee recommended FJM Uniform based on aesthetics, material, cleaning and warranty; a formal recommendation is on the agenda for the May 19 meeting. - Drivers-education vehicles: The district specified two 2025 Ford Escapes for driver education and solicited quotes through Riverview Ford, Gerald Ford and the Suburban Purchasing Cooperative (State contract #206). Engel said respondents quoted closely; the lowest quote reported was approximately $59,007.78 for two vehicles. He confirmed the $59,000 figure represented the price for two vehicles and said the district currently has five vehicles allocated to drivers education, with four commonly in use. - Johnson Elementary preschool playground: Staff proposed building a fenced, age-appropriate playground with pour-in-place surfacing for infants and toddlers participating in the Jumpstart home visiting program. The project would be fully funded by the Preschool Prevention Initiative (PI) grant with a cost cap of $127,000 and is planned for completion during summer break. - Coward consumer-science kitchen ventilation: A recent health-life-safety inspection cited outdated and nonfunctioning hood vents. The district proposed replacing the ventilation hoods over summer break at a cost of $57,910 to resolve the cited violation and align with the five-year capital-improvement plan.

Board members had no objections to the updates; the Lenovo storage purchase was taken as an action item and approved on the public record.

The items for band uniforms and driver-education vehicles were positioned for formal consideration at the board’s May 19 meeting.