The need for technological upgrades at Brownsboro High School has been one of many talking points among advisory committee members and district officials who continue to debate which campuses to expand or build following a November tax election.

And while it appears his school won’t be on the list of new construction, Principal Kenneth Wooten said equipping students and teachers with more computers and wireless technology must be a priority.

“We need our kids to be able to compete in the real world when they get out. When they come to school, we ask them to leave that outside.”

Students are assigned computers in one class — an advanced English course. Otherwise, they have no access to what Wooten calls “current technology.”

But “the issue with this topic is not the technology,” Brownsboro Independent School District network coordinator Tom Sissom said. “It is a policy, procedure, and people issue. We are having discussions about allowing personal technol- ogy on our campuses and see this as a real possibility for infusing more technology into our schools.”

It will take more than infusion to bring the campus up to more modern standards. In many classrooms, wires that connect to desktop computers hang from the ceiling and, in others, are merely camoflouged with cord covers.

“You’ve walked the classrooms,” Wooten said. “It comes down to the cosmetics of a room and the safety codes of a room. If you’re able to go wireless, that helps us eliminate space needs and to use current technology.”

The school is near capacity with an enrollment near 900. Built in 1987, it has been expanded just once and appears to be in the best condition of the four campuses that need renovation or new buildings.

District administrators recommended on April 19 building two new elementary campuses, combining Brownsboro Junior High and Brownsboro Elementary schools, and renovating parts of the high school.

“Adequate space for network infrastructure in new buildings as well as renovations are an important consideration,” Sissoms said. “Making technology more accessible to our students is the ultimate goal for our department, and campuswide wireless coverage is the most pressing need for BHS.

“Wireless access opens the doors for a variety of devices and applications to be used in education.”

By the 2010-2011 school year, Wooten said he hopes Brownsboro High will have achieved that goal.

“We’re working on that. (Sissom’s) plans are to equip every campus in the district with wireless capabilities. We’re hoping by the next school year that our campus will be wireless in all areas.”

The district’s Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet again on Monday night at Brownsboro Elementary School to further weigh construction scenarios, including these recommendations from administrators:

•Build two new prekindergarten through 3 campuses — one west of Brownsboro and the other near Chandler Intermediate School.

•Renovate Brownsboro Elementary School “to make it a part of” Brownsboro Junior High School.

•Close Ingram Street during school hours and reroute parent drop-off to current bus drive.

•Renovate Brownsboro High to accommodate electrical and technology concerns and address athletic facilities.

•Use Chandler Elementary School for ACES and/ or DAEP.

Theoretical construction costs and other financial scenarios show several options for building, expanding, and renovating the district’s six campuses.

Among them includes constructing a 212,000-square-foot high school that would include a fine-arts auditorium and athletic support facilities “with a core for 1,200 students and academic areas for 1,000 students.”

It also recommends consolidating grades and renovating the high school and Brownsboro Junior High School to accommodate students from other campuses, and building new schools.

The committee of more than 60 people, charged with finding the most ideal and cost-effective way for the district to expand, has met several times since February and is scheduled to meet at least four more times over the next two months.

One committee member has reported that Leon Johnson of Southwest Securities Group of Dallas advised the district not to seek more than $25 million in November — although the district has reportedly been approved for more than $42 million.

Southwest Securities Group estimates that a 30- year bond at $20 million would increase property taxes on a $100,000 house from $969 to $1,141.25. Comparatively, a 25-year bond at $20 million would increase property taxes on a $100,000 house from $969 to $1,157.52.

At $25 million, property taxes on a $100,000 house would increase from $969 to $1,203.22.

A 35-year bond at $20 million would increase property taxes on a $100,000 house from $969 to $1,130.18.

The oldest of the district’s six campuses — Brownsboro Elementary, Chandler Elementary, Brownsboro High, and Brownsboro Junior High — need extensive renovations or expansions. The elementary schools are in the worst condition of the four.

Texas School Planning was hired last October to consult the district on its capital-improvements plan.