District upgrades 200 classrooms with interactive displays; project under budget

John told the committee the district completed a summer upgrade replacing older projectors and displays in 200 classrooms across three districts, moving toward interactive flat-panel displays with seven‑year warranties and included training for staff. "Every classroom in Southborough is getting one of these displays," John said, noting most remaining projectors are in large spaces such as theaters.

The project also identified 55 classrooms still containing legacy 27‑inch CRT televisions; the district plans to remove those as funding allows. John said the classroom upgrade came in about $15,000 under budget and the district is exploring options to remove the old televisions. "We came in under budget with this classroom upgrade project, by about 15,000," he said.

Committee members asked about connectivity and two‑way conferencing capability; John said the displays have Android-compatible cast and HDMI/USB‑C inputs and the schools are hardwired with wireless fallback. He reported plans to double bandwidth at Algonquin, which hits capacity during peak testing events, to reduce contention.