Woodland replacing phone system

Safety concerns over periodic telephone outages have prompted Woodland Elementary District to spend about $809,000 on a new system.

Gurnee-based Woodland District 50 will replace a phone system believed to be about 10 years old. Work should start soon, with completion targeted for the academic year beginning Aug. 27, said Woodland spokeswoman Jennifer Tempest Bova.

"It's just a necessity," Bova said. "We just need to have a sufficient, updated system throughout our district so we can communicate."

School board members approved a $259,120 contract last week with Computer Power Systems Inc. in Grayslake for the phones' cabling and wiring.

Last month, the board agreed to pay $550,122 to Sentinel Technologies Inc. of Downers Grove for work on the phone hardware. The total cost for both companies -- found to be the lowest responsible bidders for the project -- will be $809,242 to install the new system.

Officials said telephone outages started occurring on Woodland's south campus in February, placing at risk the ability to call 911 in an emergency. Woodland's primary and elementary schools are part of the south campus in Gages Lake.

Board member Lawrence Gregorash has noted the state requires schools to have access to a 911 line and that it wouldn't be desirable to solely depend on wireless phones in an emergency.

In 2005, there was a three-day stretch when Woodland's educational support center headquarters and nearby intermediate school on Hunt Club Road in Gurnee lost phone and e-mail service. More than 1,300 fourth- and fifth-graders at the time were sent home with notes explaining the phone and e-mail outages.

Bova said a major advantage expected with the new telephone system is that if it goes down in one building, the entire district won't be affected. Such isn't the case right now in District 50, which has buildings in Gurnee and Gages Lake.