The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Expense proposals approved by Dist. U-46

By Seth Hancock
  The Board of Education in School District U-46 unanimously approved $673,241 in expenditure proposals under its consent agenda at its meeting on Monday, Sept. 9. The vote was 6-0, board member Eva Porter was absent.
  The largest proposal was a three-year contract renewal with Blackboard costing $494,766, up from $478,990 over the previous three years, which will be paid for by the education fund.
  The contract includes “web hosting, mass notification and our ParentLink Mobile App,” according to the proposal.
  The proposal states the contract will allow for “continued critical, rapid, mass, and evolving communication via the district’s website, mass notification system, and mobile app within the onset of the 2019-2020 school year.”
  The remaining two proposals were for technology purchases which will be paid for by the nation’s taxpayers through grant funds.
  The largest proposal includes a $92,250 expenditure with Dell for 41 interactive boards and a $50,225 expenditure with Pace for 41 balance box carts to go to eight Title I schools at their request. Those schools will be able to request more technology in January and, the proposal states, “are seeking investments in technology-based hardware and software to increase access to their students in advance of the district’s timeline” for the remaining U-46 schools.
  Broken down by school, the 41 items include nine to both Streamwood’s Tefft Middle School and Elgin’s Lords Park Elementary School, eight to Elgin’s Huff Elementary School, six to Elgin’s Larkin High School, three to both Streamwood’s Heritage Elementary School and Elgin’s Ellis Middle School, two to Streamwood’s Ridge Circle Elementary School and one to Elgin’s Washington Elementary School.
  The final expenditure item was also with Dell for 16 additional interactive boards for special education costing $36,000.
  Also approved by 6-0 votes was $6.4 million in itemized bills, a personnel report and workers’ compensation cases which included five new paraeducator positions and a resolution authorizing specific district staff to act on behalf of U-46’s 457(b) and 403(b) retirement plans.

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