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In attendance:
Mike Becich, UPMC
Dave Edmunds, Parent who works at Fore Systems
Deb Jones
Linda Kamzelski, Administrator for North Allegheny responsible for computer systems
Sabra McConnell, Parent on the Parent/Teachers Association
Ron Perry, Co-Chair for the Project
Barbara Schmid, Librarian and Co-Chair for the Project
Item #1 Review of Budget submitted by Ron Perry and Linda Kamzelski to Don Adams
A memo to Don Adams from Ron Perry concerning Internet budget for Bradford Woods was discussed. The one page document is attached and scanned (Click here). The total budget for the Bradford Woods Elementary Project is listed below and lists the budget with items expenditure date and total amounts. A discussion ensued concerning the router and CSU-DSU as well as the access fees for installing this process and it was decided that the CSU-DSU and cabling would be held off until we could speak to the appropriate contact at North Pittsburgh Telephone Company to see if they would be willing to donate the equipment and the installation. In addition, the access fee for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit was also discussed and it was suggested that Nauticom might be approached to donate access for the school system for free in this pilot project. The fee to North Pittsburgh Telephone was discussed as the second largest item ($380 per month, or $4,560 per year) and an attempt was going to be made to try to get this donated as well. Lastly, the router and cabling was estimated at $5,100, but this would actually be split between the router and the CSU-DSU, so North Pittsburgh Telephone Company, as well as Fore Systems and perhaps Black Box could be approached to donate this equipment. Since our budget was only $5,000 the goal was to reach an additional $10,000 either through direct cash contributions or service contributions by these parties.
Item #2 Discussion of March 6, 1997 Parents Night Internet presentation
The Chair and Co-Chair for the Internet Night will be Ron Perry and Barbara Schmid. The issues to be addressed on the Internet Night include the following points:
- What is the Internet?
- Why is it important?
- How does one obtain access to the Internet?
- What is the Bradford Woods Elementary Internet program?
- How do I protect my kids from "bad stuff" on the Internet?
- Why is this a good thing?
- What benefit will my children get from having access to the Internet?
- Why will the community benefit from having a "greenhouse" and what is a "greenhouse"?
- How will this be funded?
- What is currently on the Bradford Woods Home Pages?
- Explain the national information infrastructure plan and how Bradford Woods will play a role in this.
- How and when will this be implemented and how can I participate?
It was further discussed by the members of this committee that this presentation should also include a polished demonstration of the Bradford Woods Home Page and a demonstration machine where individuals can actually "surf" the net. We discussed setting up the library with at least 3-5 workstations so that additional demonstrations with one-on-one hands-on experience could occur.
Item #3 Discussion of action items following meeting
Action items for the next meeting:
- Budget for 3 years for the Bradford Woods Internet program, including fixed and start-up costs assigned to Ron Perry and Barbara Schmid.
- Parent's Night plan assigned to Ron Perry and Barbara Schmid.
- Contacting Fore Systems and North Pittsburgh Telephone Company assigned to Dave Edmunds and Mike Becich.
- Deciding on what router technology will be employed at Bradford Woods assigned to Dave Edmunds and Mike Becich.
- Beginning of a fund raising plan assigned to Mike Becich.
- Interview with the Post Gazette on the Bradford Woods program assigned to Mike Becich.
- PFA presentation and monitoring of the Bradford Woods program assigned to Sabra McConnell.
- Administrative budget and stopping installation of the router and the North Pittsburgh Telephone Company information, as well as faxing router and hardware specifications assigned to Dave Edmunds, Mike Becich and Linda Kamzelski.
Item #4 Fund raising brainstorming
- Targeted Contracts. We will try to reach target contacts, including hardware vendors to secure the router - Telephone companies including North Pittsburgh Telephone Company, which we will try to either get them to do completely for free for Bradford Woods in lieu of future business with North Allegheny. Alternatively, we will ask for a one year vs. three year advance payment to see if they will lower the price if we pay the entire amount up front. Lastly, we will go to individual parents within the school system that have business contacts in the Pittsburgh region.
- Local business contacts. We will contact the following technology vendors, including Cable Design Technology, Black Box, Mastech and Fore Systems. In addition, we will go after local businesses including Giant Eagle, Foodland, Mellon Bank, PNC Bank and US Air.
- Special situations. We will also contact individual foundations to further support this including the Rotary and vendors through Dr. Becich's Anatomic Pathology Informatics, Imaging and the Internet program. We will also explore fund raising mechanisms that we could potentially apply at the Internet Night event on March 6, 1997.
NOTE: In the event that we raise additional monies for this program, we will probably target Marshall Middle School as a second site for a similar pilot.
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