South Portland’s five elementary schools will be equipped with wireless technology, after the City Council voted unanimously Monday night to spend $79,500 on the upgrade to all classrooms.

The council also agreed to pay an additional $32,000 to buy “Smart” boards for classrooms. The boards are “computerized chalk boards” that also connect with the Internet and display content.

Adding wireless connections to classrooms will allow for technology to be better integrated with day-to-day learning, rather than limiting Internet connections to cable hookups in computer labs, said Andrew Wallace, who heads technology for South Portland schools.

Wallace told council members that the wireless connections in classrooms also will free up much-needed building space, as some elementary schools face rising enrollments. The schools can use the computer labs for an additional classroom, once their buildings are outfitted with wireless technology.

Although Wallace noted that space needs were not driving the purchases, he said that the council should also consider the additional cost for portable classrooms if the computer labs were not eliminated.

For example, Small School is proposing to turn its computer lab into an additional kindergarten classroom because of rising enrollment. A proposal to use the school’s art room met with strenuous objections by some parents.

On Monday night, councilors and two members of the public initially questioned Webster about the need for the technology purchases in difficult fiscal times.

“This is a pricey item,” said resident Nancy Richardson about the purchase of wireless routers, totaling nearly $80,000.

“I’m all for technology in the schools, but why is this being done through a sole source bid?” Richardson said, noting that only one company – Systems Engineering of Portland – responded to a request to provide the wireless hookups.

Resident Albert DiMillo questioned the costs, too. He said he had found examples on the Internet of the same product being offered but at a cheaper price. He also compared the price of routers homeowners buy versus the cost the school department would pay.

“It costs me $50 to put a wireless router in my house. Why does it cost the school department $650” per classroom? DiMillo asked.

Wallace explained that the cost for the school routers is higher because they are used by “significantly more people in an educational setting” than in an individual household.

“These allow for hundreds of children to move seamlessly through a building” with no interruption in service, he said.

Wallace said he also believes that cost savings are achieved because teachers can use technology as needed, rather than limiting instruction to a set schedule.

“Two different teachers can be (online) and differentiating instruction,” he said.

He said the routers are being purchased at a state-negotiated price, describing the cost as “the lowest possible price.”

He said some of the deals that consumers may find online are for equipment that is used, stolen or refurbished, though the buyer may not realize it.

Wallace said it was important to get equipment that is compatible with the classroom technology throughout South Portland schools, to keep repairs and maintenance affordable. Otherwise, different technicians need to be called in to service different brands.

He compared the costs to maintaining a fleet of vehicles, saying it is cheaper to have the same make and model rather than several different ones.

Although Councilor Jim Soule supported the purchases, he said he becomes concerned when bid specifications are written so narrowly as to exclude competition and the best prices.

“I wouldn’t write them needlessly tight,” Wallace responded. “I could not defend them before you if I did.”

Both Richardson and DiMillo also questioned spending on new “Smart” boards, with DiMillo again noting that the purchases could be made cheaper on line. The purchase includes eight “Smart” board systems and two boards from Headlight Audio Visual of Portland.

DiMillo said he did not understand why the schools don’t connect computers to projectors for teaching, instead of using the more costly “Smart” boards.

“All the city wants to do is spend, spend, spend,” DiMillo said, “when there are simpler solutions. Why don’t we just buy chalk?”

Wallace said the “Smart” boards increase student engagement and allow students to touch the board to manipulate what is shown on the screen.

Wallace said a projector simply puts the image on a screen, while a “Smart” board allows users to touch the image and change it.

Both Councilors Linda Boudreau and Tom Coward noted that they have seen “Smart” boards in use in South Portland classrooms.

They lauded the schools for having them, saying they enhance learning and engage students.

“It makes me wish I were 10 years old again,” Coward said.