Technology, security to be discussed at PAISD meeting
Published 11:59 am Thursday, June 28, 2018
By Lorenzo Salinas
Technology and security could lead the way for discussion at the forthcoming board meeting for Port Arthur Independent School District.
Among other agenda items, the board of trustees will decide Thursday night whether or not to approve the purchase of Lenovo N23 Chromebooks for their secondary campuses.
Instructional Technology Supervisor Kenneth Daigre said his goal is to get at least a cart of Chromebooks for each classroom.
“We’re very close to reaching that goal,” he said.
Daigre estimated that currently every two to three classrooms have a cart of devices to work with.
“In elementary, we’re closer to one cart per classroom. Ultimately, our goal is to get a device in every student’s hand,” Daigre said.
In other business, the board will decide on the selection of a contractor to replace the floors damaged from Tropical Storm Harvey in the Memorial High School CATE building, auditorium foyer and field house.
“There was some moisture underneath the floors in those buildings,” Superintendent Mark Porterie said. “Once water gets in, even on a tiled floor, it breaks the glue underneath; so the tile pieces start coming up.”
Porterie said the school’s insurance provider investigated the damage and cleared the school to have the work done on it.
The district is also looking to replace the damaged rubber flooring at the school’s weight room.
The board of trustees will also decide on an avenue of preventive maintenance for the roof structural component for the auditorium and cafeteria at Wilson Early College High School.
“The Wilson roof would total $1million if we had to replace everything,” Porterie said. “So we’re trying to prevent that.”
The school board will also seek to implement enhancements for security cameras throughout the district. Such improvements could result in additional lighting to the stadium parking lot and in the back area behind the press box.
The installation of security cameras will be sought in the special education rooms within the districts. This would be done in an effort to comply with a legislative bill relating to the settlement of out-of-network health benefit claims involving balance billing.
The board will also hear a Level IV grievance from Paul Stiles.
A Level IV is the last refuge for an employee who has already gone through the previous channels of teacher, principal and superintendent for Levels I through III, respectively.
