Schools
Trumbull School Board Will Offer Community Access with Grant
The board received a grant that will upgrade audio and video facilities at Long Hill Assembly Room and Town Hall Council chamber and enable the public to view government, education and community group meetings via the Internet.
The 10-year-old audio/video system in the school district offices will be upgraded and a ceiling-mounted LCD projector and motorized screen will be installed in the Town Hall Council Chamber, thanks to a $38,874 grant.
Trumbull’s Assistant Schools Supt. Gary Cialfi and Technology Manager Jeff Hackett said the grant comes from the Public Education and Governmental Programming and Education Technology Investment Account (PEGPETIA). A video-on-demand server will also be installed in the district office.
This equipment will upgrade on-site audio and video quality, enable computer-based internal training for school and town employees, enhance the quality of meeting recordings for Channel 17 and U-Verse Channel 99 and provide Trumbull residents with on-demand online access to recorded town government and community organization meetings.
First Selectman Tim Herbst, a strong supporter of the installations, noted, “it is critical for residents to able the readily access town meetings. This grant goes a long way toward allowing our residents to more readily interface with their government.”
Cialfi said “professional development conducted in this room (Long Hill Assembly Room) can be streamed to ” where larger groups can participate. One example he cited was training for the new bullying policy - presentations made at Long Hill will be viewable by staff at the high school, then stored for later access by other staff members.
The new system will enable the recording and online presentation of student activities including Mock Trials, Model U.N. Internet and We the People activities, then make the recordings available for community viewing via the Internet.
It will also allow community groups - PTA Council, ACE Foundation, Parents of Students with Learning Disabilities, TPAUD, as well as Trumbull Rotary and League of Women Voters - to record and store their meetings for later viewing on channels 17 and 99 and continuing on-demand access via the Internet.
It is anticipated that the equipment will be ready for use for the Oct. 4 Board of Education meeting.
State Sen. Anthony Musto, D-Trumbull, and state reps. T. R. Rowe and Tony Hwang, both R-Trumbull, all assisted in securing the grant.
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They said, “Our democracy is founded on the principle of active citizen participation in government. Without it, our system does not work. This grant will ensure that more people hear about town issues and witness their elected officials working to address them. The better informed the public is, the better the choices they will make and the better our policies will become."
