Local developer pitches free community app to Siren School District

Sarah, a local app developer, told the Siren School District board that she created a free community app that already has about 1,300 downloads and roughly 1,200 active users and asked the district to be added as its first school partner.

The pitch, delivered during the meeting’s special-appearance slot, outlined features the app can provide for the district: a centralized school calendar, alerts for school closings, event rosters and links to live-streamed games. Sarah said the app keeps users “inside the app” rather than sending them off to the open web and that the district would not be subject to in‑app purchases or advertising. “I created an App for the local area…we have over 1,300 downloads and about 1,200 active users,” she said.

Sarah described an annual fee model she said is $500 per level (elementary, middle and high school) and said she handles marketing and basic updates; she offered to work directly with district staff and take content from the district calendar or receive direct updates by phone or email. Board members asked procedural questions about who would provide content and how often updates would be required; Sarah replied she pulls much information from the school website and can add or link to calendar feeds.

The board did not act on the proposal that night. Trustees said the request should go to the finance and policy committees to verify compliance with district purchasing and data policies and to evaluate ongoing costs and content responsibilities. The board instructed staff to refer the app proposal to those committees for further review.

Next steps: the district will route the proposal to the finance and policy committees for a policy- and budget-level review before any contract or partnership is approved.