The Westport Board of Education focused on the accounts that pertain to its buildings during budget discussions tonight.
Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon has proposed a $89.2 million 2007-08 school budget, which is a 8.8 percent, or $7.2 million, increase over the current budget.
The board is expected to vote on the budget during its Feb. 5 meeting.
Tonight, Assistant Superintendent for Business Nancy Harris outlined $225,000 in building projects at various schools, including improving the ventilation in the Staples High School gymnasium.
The plan calls to spend $10,000 to improve the ventilation in order to quiet the fans in the ceiling to make it more “instructive friendly.”
The plan would also allow the doors to the gymnasium to be open, which cannot be done now, she said.
Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon said he was observing a teacher in the gymnasium, and it was impossible for the students to hear what they were being taught.
Board Chairwoman Mary Parmelee said sometimes she felt like it was the Wizard of Oz in the gymnasium with the wind that was stirred by the ventilation system.
Plus the gym was very warm, she said.
“If a spectator is warm, I can’t imagine how warm it is for the teams,” she said.
Additionally, school officials are planning to spend $10,000 to consolidate space at Long Lots Elementary in order to create a new television production lab.
The project follows the RTM approving funding for the equipment for several elementary schools.
Landon said the production studios at the other elementary schools, however, will need to be mobile.
“There is no room,” he said. “We’ll have traveling reporters.”
School officials were lucky to have the space to consolidate at Long Lots to create the studio, he said.
