Colby board receives tech update

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby School Board received an update on technology upgrades made over the past year in the district as well a report on the next steps on the newly passed referendum at their most recent board meeting held on Monday evening.

Superintendent Patrick Galligan discussed many of the steps forward that the district has taken in terms of updating and upgrading technology in and out of the classroom.

New video boards in the high school and middle school classrooms were highlighted, with Galligan stating that they allow for more interactive lesson plans. Students can present from their own computers and lesson plans can be drafted by teachers and used by substitutes more effectively. Galligant noted that one teacher had used the technology to have the lesson written in Spanish on the board to better help those students whose first language is not English. These boards will also be added to elementary school classrooms in the summer of 2025.

In line with that final point, Galligan also spoke about new translation devices that the district recently purchased with ESSER funds. These devices essentially translate what a teacher is saying in English to the student’s earphones in their first language largely in real-time. Ten sets of the listening devices and microphones have been used in grades four through eight, and seven more have been distributed among the high school classrooms.

Other items highlighted by Galligan include a new set of radios to allow for faster and more effective communication between buildings, staff training on the use of AI programs, and an update on the new Chromebook insurance plan.

Board members also received an update from Baird, one of the companies they consulted with during the referendum process, on the next steps to be taken now that the referendum passed during the most recent election at the beginning of November.

Steps towards financing for the projects have already been taken, with the board looking at a two-phase plan. In the first phase, they would borrow $12.5 million in a bond anticipation note (BAN) to give them initial funding to begin some of the projects. Then, in Phase 2, which would begin in the 2025-26 school year, that note would be rolled over into the $23.79 million general obligation promissory notes, likely at an interest rate between 5 and 5.25 percent, which would be paid off over the next 20 years.

The Phase 1 BAN was secured by Baird

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with a 3.86 percent interest rate, though it could be lower if rates drop by the time the board approves it in December. It was also noted that this would have a projected increase of $0.46 per thousand dollars on the district’s levies. This is lower than the projected increase of $0.65 per thousand dollars that the district was looking at earlier in the referendum process.

Other Business

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Galligan reported that 39 students have been utilizing the new before and after school programs so far this school year and that the district has received several notes complimenting the program from parents.

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Middle school principal Jim Hagen will be retiring at the end of the current school year after 34 years at the district.

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The first reading of several policy updates were approved by the board after recommended changes were passed down by Neola, a company the district uses to review all their policies. However, further discussion and examination of some of the policies was requested by the board members before they would be fully accepted after a second reading. This is due to some of the language in the policies resembling the new Title IX language, which the board has tabled momentarily while the situation around the Title IX changes are evolving at a national level.