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teachers? Isn't technology of the future just as important in education. <br /> Mr. Childs said he would not put it that way. There is no point putting <br /> technology in if you aren' t going to support it's use and there is an <br /> annual operating expense. <br /> Dr. DeMoura said his concern is that the community understand there is a <br /> cost associated with technology of about 30% of what you have invested in <br /> technology. <br /> Mr. Childs said it is about $50-70,000 a year once the building is fully <br /> occupied. <br /> Bill asked about the life cycle of the equipment? <br /> Mr. Childs said they amortize the wiring over 20 years, the input/output <br /> devises over 7 years. <br /> Bill said with the fast moving technology, isn't the system obsolete after <br /> 7 years? <br /> Mr. Childs said to stay absolutely on top of the physical technology, it is <br /> obsolete 6 months before it is published. What is the educational use of <br /> it? There are two levels of obsolescence - physical and educational . <br /> Educational use is longer than 7 years but probably less than 10 . <br /> Bill asked if the School Dept. will need full time personnel? <br /> Mr. Childs said it requires internal educational leadership to do <br /> continuous educational planning . The technical personnel to keep it <br /> running can be contracted out and can be an "on-call " position to begin <br /> with. When the facility is being used to its maximum, including community <br /> facility, you will probably need full time. <br /> Peter asked about the Dept of Agriculture grant program. <br /> Mr. Childs said he has applied for 18 of them and received none. The <br /> districts were considered not needy. Good Congressional connections help. <br /> Steve said the 30% support costs have to be considered in context of the <br /> programs we would have no matter what - it is not 30% on top of everything, <br /> it is not a 30% addition. A certain amount of that cost would be there <br /> anyway, with no high tech courses. <br /> Peter agreed, it is part of the entire package of providing a good <br /> education. <br /> Ray said education has changed so much; you can' t teach students to <br /> memorize. It is better for them to know where to find information then to <br /> just know it. <br /> Peter is concerned many people feel we can put computers in if we have <br /> money left over. <br /> Janice said that cannot be the attitude. <br /> Mr. Childs warned that the School Department has to pay careful attention <br /> to what the budget structure will be. Be careful about how much technology <br /> goes in the school until you know you can support it. <br /> Michael Pare said he would like to see a detailed document explaining <br /> exactly what Mr. Childs will be doing for the School dept. The 5 line <br /> document he provided is not specific enough to be sure we will get what we <br /> need. <br /> Mr. Childs left a draft document with Dr. DeMoura for everyone's review. <br /> It is a starting point for the details that Michael wants. <br /> Michael asked what will he be doing for the Committee and for Dr. DeMoura? <br /> Mr. Childs responded the first phase is to get a basic technology direction <br /> 2 <br />