The district issued a request for proposals, and the contract was awarded to Joink for $225,541. The district received five bids, and Joink’s was the lowest. The next lowest was from Electromedia for $326,265.
The upgrade to high-definition cameras, with cloud storage, will strengthen security at those schools, said Tom Balitewicz, director of student services.
“Now we’re working off a very antiquated system,” he explained after the meeting. “It’s not a digital system; it’s more of an analog system.”
With the currently used cameras at the high schools, each camera has one view. With the new equipment, each camera will have four different views, Balitewicz said.
At Terre Haute North for example, the new security cameras will provide 130 views, up from the current 35 views.
“It’s economical and it is also more effective,” he said. The cameras will be placed in hallways and outside school buildings.
These are the final schools to be upgraded, Balitewicz said. Elementary and middle schools either have already been upgraded or are scheduled to be upgraded.
The changes enable the district to provide real-time information to first responders, primarily law enforcement, who will be able to access that information with district permission, officials said previously.
Also, the changes enable the district to better store and retrieve data and for longer periods of time.
Board president Stacy Killion, who works for Joink, abstained from voting.
In a separate matter, the school board adopted its 2023 budget, advertised at $168 million across all funds.
Next, the budget will be reviewed by the Department of Local Government Finance, and the district expects to have a finalized budget by Jan. 1.
This week, the school district will upload various approved budget documents to the Indiana Gateway for Government Units, a data collection and transparency portal.
Gateway collects and provides access to information about how taxes and other public dollars are budgeted and spent by Indiana's local units of government.
The VCSC advertised tax levy is $49.5 million, while the combined tax rate is $1.22 per $100 assessed value.
Levies and tax rates will both be adjusted downward during the DLGF review, said Donna Wilson, district chief financial officer. Those numbers will reflect final assessed values, property tax caps and maximum levy allowances.
Final budget figures also take into account updated enrollment numbers, property tax collections as well as expenses for the last half of the year.
When the process is complete, district officials expect the final overall budget to be close to this year’s $159.8 million.
Board member Hank Irwin emphasized that each year, there are a lot of estimates in the budget approved by the school board, estimates that will be adjusted by the state.
According to Wilson, “A lot of those estimates have to do with what happens the last few months of this year.”
School board member Jackie Lower said budget information will be available on Gateway and the district website. “The information is readily available. It always has been, and always will be,” she said.
In another matter, the board agreed to the naming of the front drive in front of West Vigo High School in honor of the late George Waugh, who served as the high school’s first principal and held the position for 18 years until moving to the central office to become the attendance director.
A dedication with family, friends and former students will take place at 11 a.m. Thursday.
©2022 The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Ind.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
