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Carmel board to trial handheld translators, seeks real‑time captioning options
Summary
Trustees agreed to trial Pocketalk handheld translators at open sessions and asked staff to research real‑time caption/banner tools and the cost of contracting Spanish translation (Trustee Wise cited ~$5,500/year to raise participation from 81% to 97%).
At its Dec. 17 meeting, the Carmel Central School District Board of Education agreed to trial handheld 'Pocketalk' translator devices at open sessions and directed the superintendent to research real‑time translation and captioning technology that would display meeting speech as a banner for audience viewers.
Trustee Douglas proposed testing the devices the district already possesses so podium speakers can use them to translate speech into English for the board and for the board to respond through the device. "Let's try the technology that is on the table," Douglas said.
Trustee Wise emphasized a parallel, low‑cost path: contracting a Spanish translator for board meetings. "That cost was ... about $5,500 per year; we could raise the percentage of the community who can participate from 81% to 97%," Trustee Wise said, urging the board to pursue the largest‑impact language option while also studying broader solutions for other languages.
Board members described two distinct use cases: (1) handheld devices to enable a non‑English speaker at the podium to speak and be understood by the board in English, and (2) real‑time captioning for members of the audience and remote viewers to read board speech in another language. The superintendent’s office reported the district currently uses PowerPoint Live in some classrooms to deliver translated captions to individual student devices and will investigate banner/caption products for meetings.
The board asked the superintendent to: (a) implement the Pocketalk device trial for open‑session public comment and provide a brief training to staff and trustees, (b) research live caption/banner options (PowerPoint Live and comparable products) and their costs, and (c) consult Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES about translation support under existing contracts and the feasibility/cost of contracting Spanish translation services for meetings.
What’s next: trustees tabled a final decision pending cost and feasibility information; the district will present findings at a future meeting.
