CONNEAUT — Computer security upgrades and the benefits of an energy makeover at school buildings were discussed at Thursday's Conneaut Board of Education meeting.

Prior to the regular session, the board held an organizational meeting to pick a new president for 2010. Rob Eager was the unanimous choice.

At a work session sandwiched between the meetings, the board heard from Brian Chase, technology director, regarding a recent meeting held with a mechanical engineering company that promises to save the district big bucks on its energy bills via an overhaul of its heating, lighting and computer systems.

Chase said information from Brewer-Garrett does seem to have merit, at least regarding its suggested technology upgrades. “

“We would see a huge power savings,” Chase said. “It would cut power consumption in half.”

One big energy hog are the old-style televisions sets used in classrooms. The company proposes a system that would do away with TVs by converting the district's inventory of DVDs and videotapes into digital media. The material could then be called on demand by classrooms across the city via computer, he said.

“It would save a lot of power and make the staff happy,” Chase said.

Some of the technology built into three school buildings constructed over the past six years has been a perpetual headache, Chase said. “The video system has been a plague since Day One,” he said.

Brewer-Garrett proposes replacing the lights, boilers and other items included in the new buildings -- Lakeshore Primary, Conneaut Middle and Gateway Elementary schools. While some of the energy-efficient technology didn't exist when the schools were designed, other aspects were installed to keep costs low, board members have learned.

The construction project was spearheaded by the Ohio Schools Facility Commission, which also paid 84 percent of the cost. Board member Sonny Heinonen, hearing that inferior technology may have been built into the project, asked if the district should protest to the OSFC.

“Do we have any recourse?” he said.

Probably not, based on the technology available at the time, Heinonen was told.

Earlier this month, the board authorized Brewer-Garrett to conduct a no-cost analysis of the district' energy situation to get a better idea of potential cost savings. The equipment suggested by the company would put the Conneaut district “way ahead of anybody else in the county,” Chase said.

Brewer-Garrett re∫∫presentatives have said federal stimulus money is available to districts to help repay loans the district would obtain to finance the overhaul.

In other technology news, the board authorized a new program, School Connect, that — once up and running — will be able to provide parents with up-to-the-minute news about the district. Updates on school closings, building activities and other items will reach parents via computer and telephone.

Cost is $2 per student, plus a $100 annual administration fee.

The district is also exploring a computer security system that would prevent students from using school computers to view prohibited Web sites. The equipment would also help the district meet security compliance requirements needed to obtain government funding.

Ingenious students can find ways around security programs now in use, Chase said. The proposed system would be much harder to defeat, he said. The software would also automatically keep tabs on students who try to view unauthorized sites via user names and other identification. Persistent students would be automatically denied all Internet access by the computer system.

Also, Superintendent Kent Houston informed the board that most of the radios used by the district need to be replaced to meet Federal Communications Commission standards. The gear includes radios installed on school buses.

Staff is researching options and cost figures are forthcoming, Houston said.