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Smith-Green board asked to approve $107,414 loan for 95 staff laptops; district plans cloud phone upgrade
Summary
District staff asked the Smith-Green Community Schools board to approve a $107,414 common-school loan to buy 95 staff laptops, a 120-inch projector and installation; administrators also reported selecting GoTo for a cloud phone system to be installed in June, with upfront costs likely covered by a safety grant.
Smith-Green Community Schools’ director told the board the State Board approved a common-school loan application on Dec. 10 for $107,414 and asked the local board to authorize purchases to replace aging staff equipment.
The director (Speaker 6) said the request would fund 95 replacement laptops for certified staff, a 120-inch projector and screen for Room 134, and installation services, and that the spending would not exceed $107,414 from the Common School Loan Fund. “On December 10, the state board approved our loan application in the amount of $107,414,” the director said.
Why it matters: administrators told the board current staff laptops are out of warranty and five years old, triggering the replacement on the district’s five-year schedule. The director said replacing the devices will be rolled out in small groups to allow hands-on setup support for teachers.
Board members asked clarifying questions about scope and rollout. A board member (Speaker 4) asked how long ago the district purchased the previous set of 95 laptops; the director said they were purchased five years ago and reiterated the district’s five-year replacement cadence. The director added the 95 units cover “all certified staff” with a few extras for contingencies and that the deployment will include in-person help with logins and initial setup.
Administrators also updated the board on telephony. The director said district staff selected a cloud-phone vendor called GoTo after evaluating multiple systems and planned installation for June. “We finally have come to an agreement for a new phone system, a new company called GoTo that’s going to install a cloud phone system in June,” the director said. The district expects desktop apps to provide phone functionality and instant messaging integrated with calendar tools; officials said the upfront cost is expected to come from a safety grant but that final funding details were not fully confirmed at the meeting.
What’s next: the board was asked to approve the loan-funded purchases; the transcript records the request and questions but does not record a final board vote on the loan during the meeting. If approved, the district plans a staged laptop rollout and a June timeline for the new phone system installation.
