The Washington School District will acquire a new building for its technology and learning center and sell the building at 4245 Highway 47 that currently houses those functions.
On May 10, the district purchased an industrial building at 5 Chamber Drive in Washington's Chamber Industrial Park, formerly owned by the St. Louis Federal Reserve, for just over $1.57 million. District officials said the building will house all of the resources for the current Technology Learning Center and will add a database server room with the ability to protect the district's computer data hardware. .
The purchase will supersede another project approved in November to build a server room in the Board of Education (BoE) building. The project was expected to cost the district approximately $846,000.
Deputy Superintendent John McColloch said he learned of the availability of the Chamber Drive building in early December and realized it could meet some of the district's immediate needs.
“(The server room) was going to be in the gymnasium, but now that this building is available, it will house the district servers, it will house the technology department, and it will be the professional development learning center.” explained McColloch.
The current technology and learning center was acquired in 2007 with proceeds from a bond issue.McColloch said the district spent about $1.1 million at the time. Since then, computer technology has advanced rapidly and the district's requirements have exceeded what its buildings can provide, school district officials said.
“This facility provides additional space and state-of-the-art support for our robust technology needs,” said Director Dr. Jennifer Kephart. “This strategic investment demonstrates our dedication to providing school districts with the resources they need to support schools in an increasingly digital education landscape.”
District officials say the newly purchased building will consolidate these needs into one space, and it's not too soon. The need for a new server room has been discussed for years. Dale Rosing, the district's network administrator, told the school board last September that the current server room in the BoE building uses 85 to 95 percent of its power and cooling capacity each day. .
Rosing said that number was not intended to be higher than 50 percent.
He explained that the summer heat wave has put extreme pressure on the system, causing several system failures in recent years. The current server his room, built in 2004, is completely full and there is no room for improvements or new servers.
The district budgeted $1.2 million for the server room project in 2021, pooling money saved as a result of pandemic-era federal relief funds. Officials have been waiting for years for labor and material costs to come down on the project. Those funds are now being directed toward the purchase of the Chamber Drive building.
That still leaves about a $370,000 difference between the $1.57 million building cost and the $1.2 million budget for the server room. McColloch said the district is accepting private bids. The Technology and Learning Center property will be open to the public until June 7th. Once the bids are complete, the board reviews them and decides whether to accept one bid or put the property on the market.
McColloch said that regardless, the district plans to move its technology resources to the Chamber Drive building over the summer and expect it to open in the fall.
“We have the racks, we have the equipment. Basically, we just need to establish a connection and get a server,” he said. “That's why we were interested. We're almost ready.”
School Board President Dan Leslie said the decision is a “great move” for the district, meeting one of its most pressing needs while providing Washington educators with “many new additions for years to come.” He said he believed it would give him “room.”
“It gives the district what we need, and most of it is already in place,” Leslie said. “It's a win-win all around.”
