I left out the name of the city, because I live here and I am totally ashamed. November 18, 1999 Now 81 percent Y2K ready The County Independent School District is ready for the new millennium, or at least the New Year. Norwood, director of technology, said the school district is 81 percent Y2K compliant. Y2K is a computer glitch that could crash computers when Jan. 1, 2000, rolls around. "I am just as tired of hearing about Y2K as you are," Norwood told the school board at Tuesdays meeting. He has been working on the project for more than a year, Norwood added. A team of about five people from each department has been evaluating the Y2K status. Clark, director of food services, said he has been studying the Y2K problem for about two years. Clark said the cost to prepare for the millennium bug was minimal. He estimated the cost to get his department Y2K compliant was minimal. Clark said he didnt have a cost for the upgrades because they were so small. "It really didnt cost a lot, it just took a lot of time." District-wide the cost to bring everything into compliance was $161,000, spent mostly in the maintenance department, Norwood said. According to the districts Y2K status report, the department had to upgrade a heating and cooling system at the Career Center and replace the telephone system at One Junior High School. One of the things that took a long time was downloading Y2K programs off the Internet, Clark added. "The first thing we did was acquire a program from the Internet," Clark said. "(The software) checked to see if our computers were compliant and which ones were not Few were not compliant, he added. The same goes for the whole district, Norwood told the board. Several instructional computers and the phone system are expected to be replaced before the Christmas break, he said. "We wanted to wait as long we could for the (student) computers." Norwood said. "We can take care of updating them during the Christmas break." The computers will be running Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 when the students go back to school Jan. 3, he said. District officials are waiting as long as they can download the program because programmers were not sure which programs were Y2K compliant, Norwood said. "We were going to buy a program but every three months they said it had problems," Norwood added. By not installing the program into the computers until December, district officials could examine all the possible bugs in the program beforehand, he said. Clark said he doesnt expect to have any problems in or around the kitchen areas on school campuses. Problems could range from faulty refrigeration systems to bad oven or electrical connections, he said. "I feel pretty comfortable," he said. "Even if some systems fail, we are still in good shape." According to the Y2K status report given to the school board Tuesday night by Norwood, "all major computerized hardware, software and systems have been tested and found to be Y2K compliant or have been replaced or upgraded to ensure compliance The report also states that "all major food storage, preparation and service equipment have been tested and found to be Y2K compatible." The food service department also increased its inventory level just in case some vendors were having problems with the computer glitch, Clark said. The district does, however, have a contingency plan in case major electrical, gas and water suppliers have Y2K problems, Norwood said. "If we have no electricity, no gas or no water, we will have no school," Lynn Burton, assistant superintendent for secondary services for the school district, said. Clark said he is in contact with the districts suppliers and does not anticipate any problems. -----------------------------------------snip------------------------

The first thing we did was acquire a program from the Internet," Clark said. "(The software) checked to see if our computers were compliant and which ones were not. 1. Surely they didnt, some of these downloads can not make the proper corrections or assements....

The computers will be running Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 when the students go back to school Jan. 3 2. Windows 3.1 is not compliant and there are no upgrades, Windows 95 is not compliant, but there is an upgrade.

because programmers were not sure which programs were Y2K compliant, Norwood said. 3. Our tax dollars hard at work, we pay these people to know.

"We were going to buy a program but every three months they said it had problems," Norwood added. 4.  Im confused

According to the Y2K status report given to the school board Tuesday night by Norwood, "all major computerized hardware, software and systems have been tested and found to be Y2K compliant or have been replaced or upgraded to ensure compliance. 5. " I thought he said they werent going to install them until December

I really love this part.

The district does, however, have a contingency plan in case major electrical, gas and water suppliers have Y2K problems, Norwood said. "If we have no electricity, no gas or no water, we will have no school," Lynn Burton, assistant superintendent for secondary services for the school district, said. DUH

I'm sorry if this doesn't work right, never done this before.

-- Marli (can'tget@it.duh), November 19, 1999

Answers

I guess that home schooling is always an alternative...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), November 19, 1999.