The Board of Education heard a long-term/five-year spending plan presentation from the district’s Director of Technology Carmella Amodeo at its Tuesday, April 21, meeting.

“This is the continuation of the flattening or smoothing of technology spending over a five-year period,” Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, said near the start of the presentation.

Ms Amodeo explained the plan takes the district’s practice of replacing obsolete equipment and makes some adjustments to estimate an average expenditure of $545,307 instead of different costs each fiscal year.

“[It] allows me to kind of shift everything over the next five years and try to even out the spending somewhat,” said Ms Amodeo.

Later in the meeting Ms Amodeo said the goal of the long-term/five-year plan is to set a baseline for the district’s technology equipment line.

Her original budget request for technology in the 2015-16 budget, Ms Amodeo said, was around $580,000, but initial reductions by the superintendent brought the proposed spending for technology to $429,000.

“But I think [with] the average spending of $545,000 annually to replace obsolescence and keep us moving forward that we would be positioning ourselves in a good place to maintain our existing inventory of technology and obviously make adjustments as we move forward in the event that technology changes,” Ms Amodeo said.

Ms Amodeo later explained the $545,000 was figured by taking the “ups and downs” of spending years into consideration to have the district eventually reach an “obsolescence that is acceptable across the district.”

“This is really an ideal replacement for our equipment as it stands,” said Ms Amodeo.

Saying she thinks the plan is “great,” board Secretary Kathy Hamilton also voiced approval for the plan’s potential to smooth spending.

“What it will help do is manage those ups and downs in the budget process,” said Ms Hamilton. “To ask for an initial $800,000 one year and the next year it is $200,000, I think it makes the budget go up and down.”

Board of Education Chair Keith Alexander said the school board and the superintendent should “commit to following through on [the plan] in order for it to work.”

Mr Alexander also said the planned amount would not automatically go into the budget.

Voicing concern that the technology budget is frequently looked at when budgets are reduced following a referendum, BOE Vice Chair Laura Roche said she agrees with the plan “in theory.”

Ms Hamilton said reductions in the budget are decided by the school board.

“If we are committed as a board to flat-fund our technology, then it is a commitment by us and it is on us to continue that commitment,” Ms Hamilton said, also noting the “rolling number” may change over time with changing technology.

Ms Hamilton suggested the school board’s policy committee, which she chairs, could come up with a policy for the school board to follow in the future.

“I think it is better if we have something concrete,” said Ms Hamilton. “I think that helps steer the board forward.”

Mr Alexander agreed, saying he would be happy with a policy that would “make sure that [Ms Amodeo] has a little bit of an eye into the future.”

Following the meeting, Mr Alexander said the plan is to start the $545,000 technology equipment budget in the 2016-17 fiscal year, “in order to balance the next four years out. Our hope is to have some sort of guideline built for that before the next budget season so we can use the guideline for support if we find ourselves working on reductions.”