Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Using Donated Computers To Gain Information

Members of the Nevada School Board have gone global.

This is because they all now have computer systems in their homes so they can better communicate with one another and gather information from the World Wide Web.

"We hope we are setting an example for other school boards throughout the state," Davis Benton, NSB president, said.

"The project is especially helpful for board members in small, rural districts."

The best thing, Benton said, is these computers were donated to the board members and cost people of the district nothing. The board members are paying for their own on-line expenses, along with their own printers.

He said schools are teaching students, instructors and administrators how to use computers, while school board members ought to be setting an example by being computer literate themselves.

Being on-line, Benton said, is significant for the board members because they can communicate with members on boards in districts across Arkansas through the electronic mail (e-mail) system, as well as being able to "talk" with the Arkansas School Board Association.

The computers donated to the board members were older, slower models. However, the district's technician upgraded the systems so they would be faster and could handle the work load expected of them, Benton said.

According to Benton, the NSB was prompted to take this action after reading an article in the February issue of "The Reporter", the magazine for school board members. The article concerned the National School Board Association's project "School Board of Tomorrow."

Benton is the only remaining charter member of the Nevada School Board, which was created in 1986 with the voluntary consolidation of six Nevada County school districts.

He is proud of the accomplishments of the district, saying Nevada has been a trailblazer. "It's only natural," he said, "that Nevada be among the first in Arkansas to take advantage of this technology.

"Our district has one computer for every four students in K-12. Each teacher has a computer in their classroom and many have personal computers with Internet access at home."

Benton said the Nevada district is fortunate to have recently acquired an IBM mini-mainframe computer system for its media center. "It came as a gift from the generosity of a former teacher, Ross McConnell, who taught in this area several years ago," Benton said.

"Access to the technology will help us in our service as school board members," he continued. "I'd like to think we are setting an example for other districts, particularly small, rural districts like ours."

Benton credits former superintendent Barney Kizer for his leadership in helping the district begin getting into the computer age, and current superintendent Rick McAffee for his continued work in keeping Nevada at the forefront in computer technology.