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BLOOMFIELD, Neb. -- Being near someone or something that is windy can be a good thing.
Just ask students in the Bloomfield school.
Wind farms bring a green source for electricity, new employment and increased valuation for a school district.
The expected "windfall" of the new turbines here at the Elkhorn Ridge wind farm increased the valuation of the small school district by $122 million. That's a lot of dollars to infuse into a school system. The total assessed value of the district this year is $340 million.
"With an eye toward the projected valuation that would be coming into the district, we started to explore all options for ways to improve our school," said Superintendent Bob Marks.
The district is looking at an increase of about $20,000 in property tax revenue this year. The board started looking at ways to improve the district in a variety of ways, including technology.
The district, for example, now has a four-year lease with Apple Computers to provide their seventh- to 12th-grade students with laptops. Other Northeast Nebraska school districts have similar programs.
The total program with new servers and wireless routers plus 24/7 Internet access for the 130 students came to $224,000.
Kim Lingenfelter, K-12 principal, said she estimates the program is only costing the district 10 cents per student per day more than the previous computer setup.
"We do encourage the families to use the laptops, too, and become familiar with them," Lingenfelter said. "It is one of the foremost learning tools of the 21st century."
Guidelines have been put into place as to the appropriate use of the computers by students.
The district also hired a full-time computer expert, Jim Hopkins, who talked to the students about the new technology program.
Along with the having this technology in the school district comes creative financing duties for the administration.
"When you have commitment and cash, it can be used to make significant changes," Marks said.
The district also qualified for some grant money and some stimulus funding.
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