Operating without a high school building reserve levy this year to fund technology concerns Rich Lawrence, information technology director for Kalispell Public Schools.

Facing an increasing number of technology devices — as well as software, application licensing, anti-virus protection, Internet bandwidth and building connectivity bandwidth —Lawrence is thinking ahead to the 2012-13 school year.

Currently, technology money is drawn from the general fund. Darlene Schottle, Kalispell Public Schools superintendent, said roughly $180,000 was used from the general fund to support technology in the high schools alone.

“We at least have to come up with another $180,000 for next year to do just what we did this year,” Schottle said.

With a plan to take inventory in upcoming weeks, Lawrence estimates there are between 3,400 to 3,600 devices in the school district. Devices includes computers, routers, servers, interactive white boards, classroom clickers, tablets, security cameras and switches.

“Even the last three years since I’ve been here, we’ve probably added 400 devices to the network,” Lawrence said during a recent presentation to the board of trustees. “Our challenge is going to be supporting the technology we have now. We’ve been fortunate up to now.”

Schottle said it was rare to walk into a classroom and not see technology being used.

Including Lawrence, there are five full-time information technology district staffers.

“We’ve hit a wall as far as the amount of devices that my tech team can handle,” Lawrence said.

Schottle said the discussion would help provide the framework for an Information Techology committee and long-range facility planning IT subcommittee to consider before presenting a recommendation to the board.

Lawrence said one option is to freeze technology purchases and maintain current equipment, which trustees responded to positively.

“We would still purchase devices and bring them in, but there would have to be a device exited so the size of the district remains the same,” Lawrence said.

The other option he gave would be to stop replacing nonfunctioning devices and shrink technology in the district.

“This is the worst-case scenario. I worked at a couple of school districts that I had to do this because they could not pass a levy. It got so bad in Hamilton, where I worked at last, that teachers were sharing PCs,” Lawrence said.

Kalispell Public Schools Business Clerk Gwyn Andersen presented different levy options to fund technology. Andersen said technology funding could be combined with a building levy, presented as a separate technology levy, or rolled into an operation and maintenance levy request.

“Technology levies are limited to technology expenses, it can include salaries and benefits of IT staff,” Andersen said. “Just from an outsider’s perspective, you’ve run the building reserve levy two times now and your community has basically not approved that. Would you run that levy a third time and expect a different outcome, or is the technology levy something your community might be more receptive of because it is a little bit more focused?”

Trustee Frank Miller said a tech levy could have the advantage of freeing up general-fund money. Board chairman Brad Eldredge agreed and said freed-up money would be needed if other levies did not pass.

Some of the trustees were concerned that although a technology levy would be focused, and at a moderate amount, taxpayers would not be receptive to other levy requests. Trustee Thomas Clark had a similar response.

“What I’ve been told already by people is, ‘How many times do we have to tell you no?’ That’s what I’m afraid of if we need an operational levy,” Clark said. “If we have to roll the building reserve and technology levy all into operational, I’m in favor of that because I don’t think we can keep going back to the taxpayers and keep asking and asking and asking,” Clark said.

Trustees came to a consensus that the committees should consider an operation-and- maintenance levy and maintain what technology they have.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.