While Enid schools continue to use money from a 2003 bond issue for technology issues, they are developing plans to continue to update school technology.

Voters approved $2.3 million for school technology in 2003, and so far Enid schools have purchased computers for every class, library and computer lab, said Amber Graham Fitzgerald, Enid Public Schools spokeswoman. Enid schools also have updated curriculum software and the student management system, which helps keep track of the students’ progress and grades.

If a bond issue up for vote Tuesday passes, EPS will have more money to update technology. Enid voters will decide an $11.5 million bond issue broken down into two proposals. One proposal, for about $10.9 million, will include $9.7 million for facility improvements and $1.2 million for technology purchases. The other proposal is $600,000 for new buses.

Some of the 2003 bonds were sold during the summer, and each school is developing its own technical plan for each building. That will allow individual principals to make unique plans more conducive to their buildings than the general parameters set by the district technology committee, Fitzgerald said.

“Those decisions need to be made in detail at the building level. They can make suggestions about what they want their dollars used for,” Fitzgerald said.

Those plans will be finalized, she said, and the work will begin the second semester of this year. Some of the money will be used to replace computer stations that need to be replaced, purchase interactive white boards and purchase accessories.

An interactive white board is a large computer screen that allows Internet teaching tools to be brought into the classroom. It utilizes a touch-sensitive display that connects to a computer and digital projector to show a computer image. Applica-tions can be controlled from the display, and users can write notes digitally and save their work to share later.

“There is a lot of potential there. With the 2007 money, we will continue to do the same. Many classrooms need to be outfitted with white boards. You must stay on top of computers and upgrade them when it’s time,” she said.

Enid Public School Foun-dation will assist with the technical planning, Fitzgerald said. Last year, the foundation offered a buy-one, get-one-free program on white boards. If schools bought one, the foundation would get a grant to purchase another. Nine schools benefited, she said.

“In many cases the 2003 money did not purchase the white boards, but they were purchased with other sources. The bond issue will allow us to spread it and impact more classrooms,” she said.

Technology funds in Tues-day’s bond issue will allow the district to continue to add to the number of computers it has and replace older ones.

“We make good use of everything we have,” she said.

Polly Maxwell, principal at Eisenhower Elementary School, said technology funding will help schools stay ahead of changes.

All the teachers at Eisen-hower have computers in their classrooms and the school has begun adding white board systems.

“Part of our thinking here is we are educating for the conceptual future, so we want children to use technology, which is part of daily life, in conjunction with thinking and creativity,” Max-well said.

She said the planet is shrinking, and teachers must educate for the future.

“If you want to produce thoughtful, well-educated students they need to know how to find material and manipulate that. They need the right technology,” she said.

White board systems are excellent ways to do that, she said. The white board system enhances face-to-face teaching and assists students and teachers in integrating technology with learning.

“Kids have grown up with it naturally. It’s part of who they are. Schools need to keep ahead of business so they are preparing students globally for the next level of education,” Maxwell said.