The North Platte School District will be going wireless with its communication lines.
At its meeting earlier this month, North Platte approved a $27,522.66 bid package from VES Solutions Inc. to upgrade its failing telephone systems and intra-school building communications. The end result would be to integrate individual phone systems into one “seamless system.”
“We are losing telephone functionality each year, especially whenever there is a power outage,” North Platte Superintendent Dr. Jeff Sumy said in his report. “The advantage of upgrading the high school is matching the intermediate system. We can utilize our wireless point-to-point system for all intra-District calls (just like an intercom) with no long distance calls. In the long run, we can save money. The Camden Point (elementary school) phones are compatible, but the system interface will need to be updated, too.”
Midwest Technology Connection, the only other bidder for the wireless system, installed a similar system recently at the Edgerton campus, but there were still technology issues. North Platte Technology Director Mark Heckman noted he was impressed with VES Solution’s knowledge of the PRI system it wished to install across the campuses. A PRI system is essentially an extremely high speed connection that would allow the District to send and receive up to 30 calls simultaneously. The $27,522.66 for the upgrades will come from the District’s technology budget. The upgrades are scheduled for the first week after school dismisses for the summer in May with a three-day window for installation and training.