The Ann Arbor Board of Education approved spending about $412,000 in technology bond money on renovations to the district's primary server room and on video distribution equipment.
The Balas Administration Building at 2555 S. State St.
AnnArbor.com file photo
Ann Arbor Public Schools residents passed a millage proposal for the $45.8 million technology bond in May 2012.
The renovations will include addressing heating and cooling issues and mechanical problems in these rooms that causes the equipment to overheat.
The three rooms will be better engineered to create one distinct server room, one fiber closet and, if space allows, one small room for an office or conference room, according to documents from AAPS.
The original cost of the server room renovations was $8,500 more. However, the district reposted the electrical work involved in the project to receive a more competitive rate.
Bids were awarded to Rochester Hills' Diversified Construction Specialists, Inc. in the amount of $39,150 for the architectural work, Ann Arbor's Huron Valley Electric in the amount of $31,500 for electrical work, and another local company, Fuller Heating Company, in the amount of $88,650 for mechanical work.
The equipment and infrastructure housed in the server room at Balas controls most of the technology operations district wide. Another piece of equipment to control video distribution software across all schools will be added to the server room.
The cost of this equipment is $252,633 and its purpose will be to support the district's instructional technology initiatives.
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.