ECISD sees budget woes and highs and lows

A third once-stellar example of the district, Cameron Magnet elementary teacher James Johnston, was placed on paid administrative leave in March earlier trustees decided not to renew his contract at the end of the school year. At issue was Johnston’s use of non-district Internet connections and some music videos on his computer deemed lewd.

The Voice Over Internet Protocol phone system

And the Voice Over Internet Protocol phone system, costing $4 million, deployed throughout the spring, changing ECISD numbers to the prefix "456," and more importantly to the district, reducing maintenance and repair bills by $20,000. The district said the money was set aside in 2009 when AT&T told them the communication giant couldn’t continue providing service on the outdated system.

The VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phones provided new voicemail boxes for teachers, videoconferencing, webinars and online messaging, as then as enhancing 9-1-1 services and emergency procedures messaging.