A months-long dilemma came to a close at Wednesday night’s USD 383 Board of Education meeting. The board has been preoccupied since December with a parent complaint. Tony Wichmann wishes for his daughter to be able to compete with the Manhattan High swim team, but be privately instructed by her own swim coach.
The board unanimously voted against Wichmann’s request last night in a 7-0 vote.
“The member of a team needs to practice with the team and with the coach, and that’s where I land,” said board member Dave Colburn.
Vice president Aaron Estabrook also said the board’s priority remains with the publicly funded MHS swim team instead of the Manhattan Marlins club team.
Students and teachers across the Manhattan-Ogden school district can soon look forward to new computers in their classrooms and beyond. The board voted for final approval on two separate bids. The first bid goes to Cybertron of Wichita for 150 desktop computers for $85,000. The second bid will be issued to a company in Sioux City, South Dakota in the amount of $257,000 for 432 laptops.
Dr. Mike Ribble, Director of Network Operations, presented the bids. The new laptops are intended to be cheaper, running on less processing power and lacking a CD/DVD drive. Ribble said the goal of purchasing the smaller, less-expensive units is to provide more portability for the units. The new units are not intended to have the standard six-year life span other computers in the district have, meaning they will be rotated out for newer technology at a faster pace.
In other new business, the board approved the purchase of new safety rails at Bishop Stadium, and approved next year’s school calendar which was presented by assistant superintendent Eric Reid.
