{"id":20149,"date":"2019-11-15T11:37:42","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T18:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=61399"},"modified":"2019-11-15T11:37:42","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T18:37:42","slug":"egsd-technology-continues-to-grow-despite-turnover-funding-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/egsd-technology-continues-to-grow-despite-turnover-funding-woes\/","title":{"rendered":"EGSD technology continues to grow despite turnover, funding woes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Melissa McNertney works with her third graders in the Grand Elementary School computer lab in this 2013 file photo.<\/strong>
Sky-Hi News file photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Technology at East Grand School District dances a line between innovation and careful planning, but the responsibilities are piling up.<\/p>\n

During an update to the district, technology director Kery Harrelson described a busy fall updating systems and installing new technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is just changing so quickly,\u201d Harrelson said.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest technology challenges for the district has just started picking up. A major project this year is to improve safety and security at the district.<\/p>\n

While a big part of this project focuses on construction of main entryways at East Grand Middle School and Fraser Valley Elementary, plans also involve the installation of new locks, exterior key fob systems and additional security camera improvements. That\u2019s where Harrelson comes in.<\/p>\n

He juggles the technological needs of the district, including these security updates. Beyond that, it seems to Harrelson that everything has a tech component now \u2014 right down to heating and ventilation systems. It means his tech department is continuously being handed more responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Since Harrelson began working for the district in 2005, his motto has been \u201cit will work.\u201d And it has. Harrelson described a recent survey of teachers and staff in districts across the country in which East Grand\u2019s tech department was rated one of the best.<\/p>\n

Harrelson puts a lot of research into technology at the school. More than once, East Grand has been the first district in the state to implement new tech systems.<\/p>\n

East Grand was one of the first districts to transfer almost everything to the cloud and eliminate the need for almost all servers at the district, reducing capital costs by 40%. They\u2019re one of the first to use the wireless network that they use and the first to use the security camera system that they use.<\/p>\n

While Harrelson doesn\u2019t like to be on the \u201cbloody cutting edge,\u201d once he sees systems working successfully for other districts across the country, he\u2019s willing to bring them in. Then he works with the systems to make sure they\u2019re meeting the district\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n

School districts from around Colorado often look to Harrelson for advice and guidance with their tech upgrades. Many have modeled systems based on East Grand\u2019s.<\/p>\n

While that means he usually can\u2019t refer to other Colorado districts for advice, Harrelson still does his homework.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put a lot of work into research and studying how to make things work the best that it can,\u201d Harrelson said. \u201cWe try things and fail as well, but I\u2019m certainly not afraid of failure so we press on. I\u2019m very proud of what we\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, technology isn\u2019t free. Harrelson has to balance these innovations with his yearly budget and he does not take the investments lightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I create my budgets, I am pretty aware of the $50,000 markers,\u201d Harrelson said. \u201cBasically, a teachers costs the district about $50,000 a year between salary and benefits. I\u2019m aware when I hit that mark that I have either eliminated a teacher or made it so we can\u2019t hire a teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

The balance between new technology needs and funding is a hard one to strike, Harrelson said, and there is no shortage of want in the district. He approaches each situation individually and tries to weigh all the options available.<\/p>\n

The other challenge facing the tech department comes from impending turnover. Three of the Harrelson\u2019s four-person staff plan to retire in the next five years, including Harrelson himself.<\/p>\n

The department hasn\u2019t hired a new employee in eight years, so the speedy turnover will be a challenge. The positions have a steep learning curve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith as quickly as things change, it\u2019s probably a year before a staff member can be effective,\u201d Harrelson said.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, finding a qualified candidate will also be a struggle. With low unemployment rates and high demand for tech savvy candidates, the district may struggle to attract skilled replacements.<\/p>\n

With these challenges, Harrelson works smart. His tech moves have helped cut costs; by moving systems to the cloud, he cut capital costs by 40%. The demands for tech and on the tech department are ever increasing, but he faces these tasks head on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have certain goals, things we need to accomplish,\u201d Harrelson said.<\/p>\n

via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melissa McNertney works with her third graders in the Grand Elementary School computer lab in this 2013 file photo.Sky-Hi News file photo Technology at East Grand School District dances a line between innovation and careful planning, but the responsibilities are piling up. During an update to the district, technology director Kery Harrelson described a busy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-15 20:38:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}