School buys $17,000 video sign
Staff writer
With its bright colors, large lettering, and high visibility, it is hard to miss USD 408’s new $17,400, two-sided video sign beaming onto Main St. from the high school’s front lawn.
Superintendent Lee Leiker recently addressed rumors circulating in the community that the funding for the sign may have come from an anonymous donor or perhaps was a gift for the high school’s favorable rating on a list of top schools published by Newsweek magazine.
“Those are just rumors,” Leiker said. “The sign cost about $17,400 and was paid for by the district through capital outlay funds. We thought it would be a good improvement for the district and community. ”
Leiker said the hope is that the sign will help facilitate information flow between the district and community.
“There are a lot of things going on in the district,” he said. “If you don’t have direct communication with the district you could miss something.”
The sign has the ability to display pictures, graphics with or without motion, messages, and short video clips.
“There is a lot the software can do,” he said. “We’re figuring out things as we go.”
The sign also has time and temperature capabilities, but Leiker said temperature display recently was temporarily removed from the sign because the sensor needed to be relocated to a shady area to allow for more accurate temperature readings. He said brick pillars also would be added to the sign to give it a more finished look.