Breckenridge Texan

Breckenridge teachers and students will have some new technology next school year to enhance the educational experience after the school board approved the use of more than half a million dollars in federal COVID relief funds to purchase of new digital interactive panels.

Breckenridge school board members Paul Lippe, Chad Townson and Roy Russell listen to a presentation during the February Board of Trustees meeting. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)

The Breckenridge Independent School District’s Board of Trustees approved a proposal to purchase the panels from Pathway Communications LTD using $647,789 of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, aka ESSER funds, that they received from the U.S. government to help schools meet the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new interactive panels will be an upgrade from the “smart boards” and “white screens” with ceiling-mounted projectors that most local classrooms have now. Some of the current boards no longer work correctly and are costly to repair, Vince Moore, Chief Technology Officer for the school district, explained to the board members.

The new panels will allow for the teacher and several students to use them at one time and will interact with any students who are learning from home.

“It really is a great, a great product,” Moore said. “We’re looking to buy 130 of these. We want to put one in every single learning space in our campus. We want them in libraries; we want them in the media room at the gym; we want them in every classroom, from pre K to 12.”

The panels should be delivered in June, Moore said. The purchase cost includes Pathway delivering and setting up the panels for all of the classrooms, he said.

“It’s going to be exciting when the kids walk into a classroom and get to get to see these things and get to use them,” Superintendent Bryan Allen said. He also said that the upgrade in technology for the school district was part of an approved plan for the ESSER funds and that the money will not come out of the general fund.

Classroom Libraries

The school board also approved a proposal to spend some of the ESSER funds on new classroom libraries at South Elementary.

South Principal Kenna Rainey said that the project will provide each teacher with a wide variety of books on, above and below the standard reading level for that grade. The classroom libraries will help ensure that all of the students have enough reading material, regardless of their reading level.

Honors

The school board honored the following students and teacher of the month:

• Lanna Huynh, East Elementary, first-grade student
• McKinley Whitaker, South Elementary, fifth-grade student
• Christian Flores, Junior High, eighth-grade student
• Cali Griffin, High School, 11th-grade student
• Calvin Best, Teacher of the Month

(See photos of the awards below)

Other Business

BISD Athletic Director Casey Pearce gave an extensive presentation on new scoreboard options for the school district. Allen said that they will try to get the two companies that the district is considering to come to the March board meeting for official presentations.

The board also approved the local innovation plan for the district and, following an executive session, approved several employee contracts for the next year.

In addition to the usual attendees at the meeting, a group of local Scouts attended the meeting as part of merit badges they are working on.

Local Scouts attended the Breckenridge Independent School District’s Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 16 and took notes. They were going to write reports about the meeting for a merit badge they’re working on. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Lanna Huynh, a first-grade student, was presented with the East Elementary, Student of the Month award by teacher Deborah Gonzales. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

McKinley Whitaker, a fifth-grade student, was presented with the South Elementary Student of the Month award by Principal  Kenna Rainey. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)

Christian Flores, an eighth-grade student, was presented with the Breckenridge Junior High School Student of the Month award by Principal Laura Gibson and Assistant Principal Monica Pearce. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/ Breckenridge Texan)

Breckenridge High School junior Cali Griffin was presented with the Student of the Month award by teacher Calvin Best. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Superintendent Bryan Allen presented the Teacher of the Month award to Calvin Best, who is the BISD Webmaster and teaches  U.S. history, psychology, journalism and web media. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cutline, top photo: Vince Moore, Chief Technology Officer for the school district, gives a presentation on the new interactive digital panels that the school district will purchase with ESSER funding. The panels will be placed in every classroom, as well as in the libraries and other areas. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

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