Board debates classroom "time sign" displays vs. switching AV boards; targeted approach could cut ~$230,000 from Pilgrim change order

Committee members spent an extended portion of the meeting reviewing a proposed change order for classroom supplemental displays—referred to in the discussion as "time signs"—and options to change classroom AV hardware from Promethean boards to Clever Touch boards.

Mr. Bates led the briefing and said the time-sign package as presented would add nearly $350,000 to Pilgrim’s project if installed in every classroom. He explained that the time sign is a roughly 20-inch display that can receive mass-notification alerts and show other information such as the time, but staff and vendors described it as supplemental to the code-required mass-notification system (strobes and audio). Staff proposed a compromise: install time signs only in rooms that do not have large-format Clever Touch boards (about 50 rooms by staff count) and provide traditional analog clocks in other classrooms; that approach could reduce the Pilgrim add by roughly $230,000.

Committee members raised operational and equity concerns about having different display systems across schools; Mr. King and others emphasized consistent treatment across both high schools to avoid a perception that one school is safer than the other. IT representatives and the district’s security consultant confirmed Clever Touch boards can power on to receive and display emergency messages even if a teacher turns the board off—reducing the redundancy argument for a separate time sign in every room. Members asked the IT director to demonstrate products and requested a deeper cost and deployment analysis; the committee did not approve the change order and asked staff for a follow-up in the next meeting cycle.

What’s next: staff will pursue a targeted implementation plan and present additional cost/credit calculations and IT demonstrations (the transcript records the committee asking to arrange vendor demos and to include the IT director in the next discussion).