By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board approved the purchase of laptops for Hays High students at its meeting on Monday.
The district's Technology Committee had recommended buying iPads with keyboards to replace the aging laptops at the high school.
The district budgets to replace the high school devices every four years.
Two Hays High students spoke during the public comments session of the meeting. Both advocated for the continued use of laptops.
Although the students cited more computing power available on the laptops, Scott Summers, director of technology, said the iPads actually beat the Dell laptops the students are using now for computing power.
However, to gain the computing power students said they wanted in a student-led survey, the district would have to upgrade to MacBook Pros, Summers said.
The board approved a bid from Dell for $605,935 for 1,100 devices. iPads would have cost about $150,000 less over the life of the computers.
The MacBook Pros would have cost about $120,000 more than the Dells over the four-year life of the computers. The estimated costs include buyback of old devices, Summers said.
Board member Ruth Ruder commended the students for coming before the board with their concerns. Ruder, whose daughter attends Hays High, said several students approached her and expressed their desires to continue to use laptops.
Board member Jayme Goetz, a former teacher in the district, said teachers approached her saying they preferred laptops for their classes.
The board unanimously approved the purchase of the Dell laptops.
Bleachers
The board approved the purchase of bleachers and a press box for Hays High softball at a cost of $178,160 from Heartland Seating. It also approved bleachers at the new Hays Middle School athletic field from Heartland Seating for $127,442.
Board members asked about moving the old bleachers from Hays Middle School to the new location.
Superintendent Ron Wilson said he thought the community will continue to use the field at the current middle school.
He said he was also concerned about the stability of the old bleachers if they had to be disassembled and bolted back together. He expressed concerns about liability issues.
New weight racks were purchased for the new high school with bond funds. Additional weights are needed for the facility.
The board approved the purchase of weights and equipment from BSN Sports for $54,492 from the capital outlay fund.
Board elections
The board also discussed moving the election of board officers from July to January.
The district financial year starts July 1. However, board elections, which used to be in April, are now in November.
The board made no decisions on the elections Monday night. They will discuss the issue again at their June meeting.