The IDF is what our phone system runs off of. So, if that were to go down and that would overheat, our phones would go down and then we'd have to replace it and a server. Um, and we don't want to look towards that. The auditorium lighting and projector has been on our capital request for a few years now. Um, it kind of has kept getting kicked down the road uh year after year. Um, that is a very frequent uh rental um for us, the auditorium. many many events uh take place there including town meeting for the town of Boilston. Uh we uh are proposing replacing that. Uh lighting controls and gym lighting. I think as you may recall the controls for the gym lighting are um out of service. So we're having to sort of manually at the breaker box. I think I don't know if N's still here, but I think we're turning those on and off at the breaker box, which is not a recommended means of um turning lights on and off.
So, not only get the list, but I would like to see um how this is developing so that they don't have all these problems. Uh I know a couple of shops need t-shirts. Um and I know one of them those have been wanted t-shirts for this long. I mean again there's a lot of things here that are repeated every year and every year. So that's my new business and I would like um a continuation of that. >> Please that. So, here's here's the list for one thing. And what I can do is I'll give you a report of what's actually in our honest. >> No, no. I'm going to give you one anyway. >> Everybody has that, I believe. No. >> No. >> Oh, all right. Because I'm glad I was going to I'm commended to you. Oh, it wasn't. So, I'll make sure you get an email to you.
Um our general lighting controls are out of date. Um so we are proposing to replace sort of the district's the school's lighting controls overall as well as that gym lighting piece. Uh wireless access points. Our wireless access points uh overall are coming to end of life. um one way or another in the next year or two, we'd be asking to replace those. So, we're putting this on there. Uh middle school furniture, as you'll recall, we replaced some middle school furniture this year. Um we shared that middle school furniture is really elementary school size. There are many middle schoolers that are bigger than me. Um I've sat in those chairs and I look silly. Um I'm sure they look silly, too, when they're trying to sit in those chairs. So, we did bring in some furniture from Pitchburg. Um, they were closing a school. Uh, Diana and I rented a U-Haul and we drove up there, um, loaded it with furniture and brought it back.
Uh, we'll we'll send that out tomorrow >> or before the end of the week. So, um, what I was going to say is I can do a report that outlines >> those recommendations, what's in the upcoming budget in terms of some of the equipment and stuff and then also talk look give you a followup on each recommendation and our plan to either implement or not implement if not to implement the rationale for not implementing. So I can give you a report on >> what's the alternative to resolve the issues because then the the whatever they the recommendations are are coming back. You know what I mean? >> Storage space for the I mean extra classroom. >> Please you're going to have them put a second floor run. But I know but >> it's easy to say we are we are creating we are expanding we have a new building but these recommendations for every shop are coming back every year.
Um, that was a significant savings. We also bought 20ome,000 in furniture last year. That was the only capital item approved for Danto last year. Um so this should finish that at least um to the degree that you know most of our students have reasonable seating that's age appropriate, size appropriate. Um our Lego uh robotics system that we use in some of our science classes um predominantly technology is now at end of life. We actually just realized this as we were thinking about replacing uh some of the existing units. they have moved that to computer science and AI. They are discontinuing the robotic system in June. Uh so it will not be supported. Um so this is a a separate program that should last a number of years. Um I'd expect it has a seven-year lifespan with maybe some upgrades along the way. We may look at modules and things like that to add on.
>> Well some do you agree with me Mr. >> Some some of them actually absolutely are coming back and have been looked at and the recommendation of you know that like someone says well I need another teacher. Well we look at that and >> two shops there. >> Yeah. So some of the shops say we need another teacher. So we look at do they really need a teacher? How do we schedule and can we schedule in a way that we don't have to add that extra teacher? Now they may not like the way we schedule or they might not agree with us but in fact you know and we look at what's the impact of you know uh so let's say the class oh we have 20 kids in our kids right students in our class. So you take you might take a like office tech is that man it's more like an academic shop versus carpentry.
Uh Avid curriculum uh grades six to 12. Uh, that's a relatively minor uh ask, but it's a a um Oh gosh, I'm blanking on enriched, help me out. >> Executive functioning tier 2 intervention program, >> right? Um, life readiness. >> Um, the last item you'll see, and we'll touch on this in a few moments, uh, is a school van. Um we would anticipate this would result in savings over uh the long term. Um for example uh we would we would not only use it to support our bridges program to go to job sites and work um programs but our athletic programs could use it as well. And talking to uh Julie Lee uh he would be size appropriate for our golf team for example. So instead of paying $350, $400, $500 or more uh for each of their matches, um we could use the school van uh drivable by the coach, for example, who could take them to their games.
I can't have 20 students at under one teacher with all kinds of equipment but I can have a one teacher for 20 students in an office tech where they're just working on computers and all staying in one central place. So we make decisions look looking at the whole big picture is all I'm saying. And the teacher may or may not agree with us. That's all. They bring it to their advisory boards and the advisory boards will say, "Oh yeah, we think you need another teacher." But the teach the advisory board doesn't understand the schedule. They don't understand a lot of things. But I'm not saying that they shouldn't do that. I'm just saying they don't always have the big picture either. That's all. But that's why I'll give you a rationale for if we're not going to hire like a teacher that was recommended. I'm going to give you a rationale why we wouldn't do that.
Um and that would be significant savings over a period of time. Um I have a couple examples. So this is an example of a 12 passenger multi-purpose van. This would be the larger of the sort of size vans we'd recommend. Uh 10 to 12 passengers is pretty typical. As you can see, uh there is seating for up to 12 students in there plus some luggage. So this could be a number of students uh a coach uh and some golf clubs in the back. So reasonable um for that purpose. Uh we could also use it to transport uh resources from school to school as needed if we needed to. Uh but this would be a resource for the district in addition to cost savings over the longer term. It's it's also not only we use it for our bridges program, right? The opportunity for kids to build the supermarket life skills for our athletics, but it's also great PR for us as well too, right?
And you can have a good judgment for yourself. This is >> This is like their wish list. >> It's like my granddaughter's Christmas list. >> It's this big. >> I want to see how we actually resolve all these problems that look look so uniform in all the shops. One um and let's say let's say that there's a space in one of the shop the space issue and we resolve it. But next year they need more space. At least we we should be able to tell that the space that they are recommending >> next year is not the one that they've been asking for before because that was resolved and now they are need they need a new they need more space for for a different reason for a new reason and right now I don't understand that if we if some of these are new they look old to me.
We have the we have the Van Rap in Boston, right? You see them all the time when you drive. you see Whisper Academy, you see different districts that have um that piece, but it would be a great opportunity for not only for our our students and our teachers, but also to to promote our district as a whole. >> Um with this, people have to be certified to drive. I'm sure insurance has to match that. Um is that kind of going to be to the budget as well or >> So, uh interesting. There's no specific certification for this. Um, you know, we would we would definitely um look at making sure that people are comfortable with it. Maybe even provide some training as necessary if we could. Um, but uh so yeah, the laws are very interesting around vans and transportation and how that works. To drive students to and from school, you need a very specific license.
>> Yeah. Some of >> you understand? >> Yeah. So you I mean like >> because we don't have we don't do followup. >> Yeah. So you have a like uh early childhood education. We're hiring another teacher. They're going to need enough space and that's in our we're working on uh we're working on a plan for looking at what are the space needs for next year. And that's one of the spaces we know we have to uh figure out where are we going to find that space. And so we're strategizing and working on that. We've met on that a couple times already this year. It's a difficult situation, but we've been able to resolve some of it. Not all of it yet, but before the summer gets here, we'll have figured out I'm going to say 90% of it. >> Y >> because you're going to put them outside.
But when they're once they're at school, um that lensure requirement um doesn't exist anymore. >> We bought one of these district work. So we had some people come in and do some training for us, right? So that we knew how to back it up and how to look where park so we >> Okay. Yeah. I just as a parent I would want someone to have a good driving license and you know a little additional training >> and even one of the things that we learned when we brought it in previously is like we pocket that right. So you're not going to spot that someone backs in behind you, right? And then you can't open up the back doors to to speak of parking. >> I want to speak at a park. >> Can you use this for a field? Can you use it during a field trip during the day?
>> I'll set to Mercedes. Yeah. >> Yes. to piggy back on the what Miss uh Disla is requesting. Um I'm not sure if if all the everything that they were already going through it, it's already on that paper. Um and I think it would be great for for like what she says, you know, and not just for for them is for us as well to know that, you know, out of the five things that they asked, you know, three things were done and the other two were not done because of ABC. But um I'm more concerned as well because I I think most of what I heard is u a lot of everybody of these different shop were referring to equipment update equipment update. So if if if 80% or even 70% of that it it's it's a lot of money that we're looking into.
Like could like the art class go to a museum? >> So like it's as long as you're not driving them to school at the beginning of the day or home. >> Yes. >> They can take it out. 100%. Yes, anything during the day would be fine. So, smaller field trips would be would be a possible use for this. Um, again, the only like real specific license would be directly taking them from home to school or from school to home >> and that would be for the district we'd be able to have the access to, right? >> Or like when the band the band gets together to practice all the trumpets, they all get together. It's a huge opportunity. I'm curious you can consider like hybrid or electric because there's different maintenance associated with those types of engines. >> I I have looked at electric or or hybrid vans in the past.
So, who's going to be the first one to start getting what they're going to get and who's going to start getting, you know, obviously each shop will have, you know, a prior their priorities. Um, but I definitely would love to see us addressing some of that issues and and who's actually so they their their recommendation who's going out there to find out whether it's really needed because I mean I can ask for for many things I want update in my business >> the advisory board >> but that's what I'm saying the advisory board is is is advising by like m Mr. Um um sorry >> Lavoy. >> Um >> Lavoy >> name I'm sorry >> Mr. Lavoy I'm sorry but Mr. boy was was referring, you know, like I'm sorry. Listen, I I I I I'm forgetting things. I'm getting I'm getting there. >> Um again, you know, the the advisory board understand the feel, but they're not in in there day by day.
They they currently don't have sort of a model that would fit this bill. Um school buses are kind of that were kind of the rage. Um uh and >> you know they're very expensive. So your your average um electric school bus is $350 to $400,000. Uh whereas a normal gas diesel uh school bus is in the$1 $120,000 range depending. So it's a big though through less maintenance. >> Yeah. >> So that but even I'll use an example like Monday schools had to all delay right. So I was communicating with the superintendent and they had to do that because they're electric buses, right? Nothing to do with the Super Bowl and nothing to do. It was just so so cold that they were concerned about those electric buses getting ready to start as well to so there was cost savings about buying electric buses, but there was also other costs that they have to associate that.
You know, again, I may want a new shampoo ball. Is it really needed? What's wrong with the shampoo ball that we already have? Can it be, you know, can we get a new cushion to people lay their back? Is it is it old? Is it uncomfortable? Is it broken? Why do we need it? Because we want it to look better, you know, versus really really needing something, a desk or some whatever it may be that it's already broken versus something that looks old and outdated. So again, um who's who's actually responsible to go out there and verify that this requirement is my question that this that this everything that the advisory board is requesting, who's confirming that these thing are actually needed? And so that's going to be the person responsible to kind of put us give us an update of what got fixed and what did not.
So, I attended um some electric school bus workshops last year through um MASPO, the professional organization for school business administrators, and I specifically asked about vans and you know, their answer was really there's nothing really out there for that just yet. Um they're talking about it. Um I think a lot of it's going to have to do with what sort of support for sort of alternative fuel or electric vehicles there is um in the coming years. It's also for the efficiency. I appreciate the electric piece, but one of the things we dealt with when we purchased it previously that if the art teacher is driving while that teacher and they have to fill it up, right, because they're getting low on gas because they're traveling out to the western part of the state, right? We have the company car that they can pull over and fill it up as opposed to, you know, just all those things we would be looking at.
>> Yeah. So it's a process and uh it starts with the advisory committee making their recommendations. Then we pull together a team that's going to review. We're going to the team of CTE administrators, myself um and a couple maybe other uh administrators and staff themselves, teachers, lead teacher probably would be the other from representing the department would look at what the recommen what the requests are and we have to then determine is it a capital expense or is it something we can fund in our operational and a lot of that what they asked for some of it's already in our budget for next year but it's already been reported out that we want it, but we've already accounted for that and we've got to look at that. So, we'll now get together and say, "Oh, we've already put this in the budget." And so, we can look at all the shops where we've put things in the budget.