Four East Providence schools getting new intercom systems

By Ethan Hartley
Posted 12/30/24

The East Providence City Council voted unanimously during their Dec. 17 meeting to transfer $552,200 from its new revolving capital fund to finance the replacement of four intercom systems at elementary schools across the city.

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Four East Providence schools getting new intercom systems

Posted

The East Providence City Council voted unanimously during their Dec. 17 meeting to transfer $552,200 from its new revolving capital fund to finance the replacement of four intercom systems at elementary schools across the city.

“The intercom systems at Silver Spring Elementary School, Whiteknact Elementary School and Orlo Elementary School are original to the buildings, which date back to the 50s and 60s,” wrote Superintendent Sandra Forand in the proposal provided to the council. “They are currently not reliable for communication to and from the office to classrooms. In the event of a critical incident, our ability to communicate with all stakeholders in the building on a single system is limited. New intercom systems are a must in order to have the capability to communicate across the building in an emergency and from classroom to the office and back.”

The capital revolving fund was set up following passage of a new ordinance by the council earlier this month that took the approximately $3.3 million in leftover money from the $189.5 million bond that built the new East Providence High School. The ordinance placed the money into an interest-bearing account that is earmarked specifically for use in capital school projects.

The $552,100 will go towards new intercoms systems at each elementary school for the following amounts:

Whiteknact: $143,000
Orlo: $133,500
Silver Spring: $128,100
Myron Francis: $147.500

“The intent of this effort will be to provide materials, labor and project management for the installation of a structured cabling system which will support public address throughout the building,” states the scope of work report to the council. “A hybrid system will be installed providing the IP based classroom speaker/clock/strobe units and analog speakers in hallways and exterior of the building. Integration into the Singlewire system is provided in this proposal to expand on the existing system and create a unified communications system.”

Up to $500,000 of this project is eligible for 47% reimbursement through the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), meaning they can expect to receive back around $235,000, which will be put back into the revolving fund once the reimbursement is secured following the completion of the project.


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