North Allegheny to Borrow $4 Million to Upgrade the School District's Technology Infrastructure

A little more than a month after North Allegheny Superintendent Dr. Raymond Gualtieri suggested the district was "falling behind" with its technology infrastructure, the school board Wednesday approved borrowing $4 million to make technology improvements in its buildings.

The work will be financed over seven years at an annual cost not to exceed $610,719.50, according to an e-report posted on the North Allegheny School Board web site.

The improvements include upgrading or replacing the network infrastructure equipment and wiring for all seven elementary schools and installing wireless access in each of the district's buildings.

“When we have kindergarteners upset that we don’t have wireless at our elementary schools, we have a problem," Gualtieri told the board during his March 20 presentation.

Only board member Christopher Jacobs voted against the plan, saying that he wanted to have a clearer picture of the district's finances for the 2014-15 school year, when these improvements will likely take place, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The board also approved spending $15,052 to install a video phone systems and door access controls for all schools and key card systems at the schools that do not already have them-- Bradford Woods, Hosack, Marshall, McKnight and Peebles Elementary schools.

According to the administration, this project was recommended as a "high priority" by the security consultant who recently performed a vulnerability analysis of the district’s facilities in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. 

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