The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Dist. U-46 Board approves various proposals, bills

By Seth Hancock
  The Board of Education in School District U-46 unanimously approved, via a 7-0 vote, for iPad replacements.
  The approval, at a November board meeting, was for $258,020 with Apple, Inc. and will be paid by the nation’s taxpayers through the Elementary School Emergency Relief Grant funds as well as the Emergency Connectivity Fund.
  “The new 380 iPads (used for staff, Pre-K, and Kindergarten), 200 iPad Minis (used for Specialized Student Services, Physical Education, and some staff), and 10 iPad Pros (used for visually impaired students) will replace five and seven-year-old devices that have met their life expectancy for updates to their operating systems for security purposes,” the proposal states.
  The proposal added: “The iPads are moved from school to home on a daily basis for PreK and Kindergarten students which takes a toll on the devices. Not only will the new iPads receive security updates, but will also have updated operating systems and have a life span of five years…. With the purchase of the new iPads, the students will experience updated equipment and the district will ensure that the devices will receive updates and have a secure operating system.”
  Also approved unanimously was a change order with Abbey Paving Company, Inc. which added $34,561 (operations and maintenance fund) to a South Elgin High School tennis reconstruction project that was previously approved.
  The original contract cost was $685,015 which increased to $719,576 with the change order.
  “Additional work was needed on site that was not in the original contract due to unsuitable soil conditions,” the proposal stated. “Undercuts on the asphalt were also needed to stabilize the surface surrounding the tennis courts.”
  The board also unanimously voted on $10.2 million in itemized bills.