The Poughkeepsie City School District is moving into the third phase of utilizing its Smart Schools Bond Act allocation. The district is proposing a plan in which it would use its remaining roughly $1.2 million to install new classroom and hallway clock and speaker displays and other classroom technology upgrades.

In January 2014, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for New York State to invest $2 billion in its schools through a Smart Schools Bond Act. The goal was to assist districts in meeting the demand for expanded online learning and to level the technological playing field by leveraging resources. Voters approved the Smart School Bond Act in November 2014 and as a result, the Poughkeepsie City School District was allocated to receive $5,708,639.

In order to receive the money, the district was obligated to draft an improvement plan linked to long-range educational technology and high-tech security needs and involve the community in planning through a 30-day public comment period and a public hearing prior to approvals from the Board of Education.

Through the first two phases, Poughkeepsie invested roughly $4.5 million in district-wide safety and security upgrades, such as security cameras, upgraded access and lockdown systems and video server rooms; and technology upgrades such as interactive Promethean Boards and laptops and Chromebooks for teachers and students.

In Phase Three, the district is proposing adding classroom clocks and speakers at each elementary school in addition to hallway clock/speaker combos and signboards in each gymnasium. The upgrade in classroom speakers would allow announcements to be made only to specific classrooms or wings when necessary and allow for custom text, audio or image alerts when needed, such as when a lockdown is initiated.

Phase Three would also include adding additional Promethean Boards to high school classrooms that do not yet have them, adding Chromeboxes to some classrooms and purchasing wireless keyboards and mice.

Read the full presentation of what would be included in Phase Three here, and watch a presentation given to the Board of Education on March 5 here.

To comment on the proposal, email Interim Assistant Superintendent for Business Margarita Lekaj at mlekaj@poughkeepsieschools.org using a subject line of "Smart Schools Phase 3 Comment." All comments must be submitted by April 6.