TECHNOLOGY BOND IMPROVEMENTS

Bond Funds Continue to Catalyze Tech Improvements

In March of 2003, Spokane taxpayers approved a multi-million dollar school-improvement bond.
While the bulk of that money will be spent on specified school expansions, remodels and reconstructions, portions of it have already made significant improvements to technology throughout the entire school district. Throughout the six-year bond cycle, money will continue to be disbursed as part of the ongoing, voter-approved program for $20 million in tech enhancement and upgrades.

Students now have faster access to the Internet for research. Thanks to bond money and a gift from the Bernard and Marsha Daines Foundation, a second Internet connection was made for the district. It, combined with a caching appliance, in effect quadruple the district’s bandwidth. School-day slowdowns in Internet access are now virtually eliminated and students from Woodridge to Moran are celebrating the new, rapid launch of their webpages. District email has been enhanced and educators and administrators alike are now able to communicate with increased speed and security from any school facility.

Server performance and reliability has been improved with an upgraded Novell server. Additionally, eight new, high-performance servers have been purchased and installed. These greatly improved the performance of critical student, teacher and administrative software applications. Installations of new computer switches also dramatically increased the computer network and enhance the speed of which student and staff can access the world wide web as well as email and printing.

The district’s webpage is now easier to maintain and update thanks to the implementation of a Content Management Server. Visitors can now enjoy a more organized and attractive website and school pages themselves can be more easily maintained by staff members.

COWs are being herded into several schools! Computers On Wheels are wireless, cart-based labs that can be used in place of, or in supplement to, fixed computer labs. The typical COW includes 24 – 30 wireless laptops, a cart for transport and storage, a laser printer and a wireless connection. The cart can be moved throughout a school with laptops distributed to students in a classroom and used throughout the day. COW”s have been implemented and research assisted in part with assistance from SHAPeS .

Additionally, a variety of new PCs have been purchased and many more upgraded with district bond money. Professional development has been closely linked to every technological improvement, ensuring that educators across the district are well supported in their acquisition of new and newly necessary skills as software and technology evolve.

Spokane Public Schools can thank local voters for the many improvements to educational technology that the bond has funded and will continue to fund through the 2003-2009 bond cycle.