Apr. 5 -- Last May, Ridgefielders approved $420,000 for a technology upgrade at Ridgefield High School. The idea was to build a "21st Century Infrastructure" for our students, including a Local Area Network (LAN), connections to the Town's Wide Area Network (WAN), and the electrical upgrade necessary for the new computer gear. The budget item passed handily. At tonight's Board of Education meeting, the town found out that the amount budgeted is far short of what is actually required to equip RHS with the electrical and network systems needed to fulfill that vision. The electrical and computer experts from J & M Computer Consultants (photo, left), called in by new Superintendent Dr. Ralph Wallace, explained that the project would actually cost $785,000. The really bad news was that we can't buy and build "half a loaf" now, and the rest later, when we have the funding. Ridgefield Schools experts explained that if we aren't able to find the extra $300K+ needed, we should postpone the whole project. School board members Democrat Bob Opotzner and Republican Doug Orr said the Board definitely needed some good answers to their tough questions about how we got to this point. The talk on the BOE has been that they might dip into their current surplus of operating funds to finance the shortfall in this capital project. Stay tuned for more on this puzzling dilemma!
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