Initial and Ongoing Costs
"I think as any administrator begins to look at two-way videoconferencing, when it comes to purchasing, the things that they need to look at are ironically not always only centered around the initial outlay of cash for equipment." Kent Keel, Kent School District, Kent, WA
Mr. Keel is correct: budget development for two-way video systems must include both initial (one-time) costs and on-going costs.
In this section, we provide information about cost categories or items to be considered in implementing any mode of distance education, with comments from educators involved in the various modes of use described in the "Uses and Examples" section of this Web site.
Guidelines and worksheets are also included for your convenience.
Cost Factors
Here are some major categories and related items which might have cost implications, either one-time or on-going. A comprehensive list is provided as a reminder, but not every item applies in every situation.
Staff
- Classification and pay levels
- Training
- Preparation Time
Hardware
- Computers
- Video System
- Speakers, Monitors
- Speaker Phone
- Furniture
Environment
- Space provision - construction, rental
- Space modification - noise suppression, visibility, access, security
- Electrical power - rewiring, power supply
- Telecommunications - external line installation, in-building lines
- Service fees - electricity, phone, Internet, telecom lines
- Back-up, power failure
Software
- Purchase
- Upgrades
Support
- Maintenance
- Supplies
- Travel
Contingencies
- Service contracts
- Insurance
Commentaries from:
Kate Stetzner, Superintendent, Butte School District, MT Scott Buswell, Manager of Technology, Montana Office of Public Instruction
Kent Keel Technology Director, and Rick Feutz Technology Coordinator, Kent School District, WA
Comments on cost factors from experience:
Keel, Technology Director: "I think as any administrator begins to look at two-way videoconferencing, when it comes to purchasing, the things that they need to look at are ironically not always centered just around the initial outlay of cash for equipment. Certainly that's going to be considered. You have to look at what your program is and how you're trying to meet things and then make sure that you buy equipment that will meet that immediate need. But beyond that, I think [the issue] becomes the maintenance of the equipment as well as the ongoing support of that equipment, i.e. the people that are trained and readily available to fix anything or lend assistance."
Feutz, Technology Coordinator on supportability: "The equipment cost, even though it's going down quite rapidly, you certainly have the ongoing costs of conductivity, you certainly have to provide support. My greatest fear in all of these large networks that we put in for videoconferencing or data is that we will create an environment that we can't support physically. I think if you take a look across the country, you'll find that larger school districts initially, and probably small districts, are running into that right now, putting in networks that they physically can't support. By doing that, the vision of the ability for educators to be able to use this technology will be lost in the dollars and cents because good planning and good visioning wasn't done up in front."
Stetzner, Superintendent on telecom charges: "The bottom line that all of us know about schools and education today is that the issues always come back to money. What happens in this city and state, and I've seen across the country, is that the service providers that provide the ISDN lines necessary in order to support this kind of technology are not at any type of standard (regarding) the cost. So, because this school sits outside of a particular area needed for this type of technology to work, it cost upwards of $100,000 just to bring the line in, which we did obtain from a grant. Once we received the ISDN line, because we were outside the service area we were paying upwards of $250 per month, while a school that sits less than a mile away from this school, because they were in the correct area, was able to get this same technology for less than $50 per month. I know that on a national level, the US senate is very interested in making sure that these technology costs are streamlined. I think that we need to continue to lobby that that be done so that every one is paying an equitable fee for these services from our providers."
Buswell, Manager of Technology on contingencies: "When we originally got started here at the Office of Public Instruction, we had a fair number of troubles just getting the equipment up and functioning. We installed the ISDN lines, and unfortunately they were outside provider lines (not state-provisioned lines). We went through lots of trials and tribulations, if you will, from people cutting out our phone lines. At one point in time, I lost 30 feet of actual physical phone line going to my ISDN connection because they were cleaning up phone connections here in the office from the state wiring and literally hauled it out. Working with the local phone company to make sure that the lines were up and physically operating, we had portions of the day where the phone line wouldn't work because some computer programming on the ISDN lines shut them down."