Our campuses make extensive use of audio/visual equipment and services. This is a major investment area: schools can easily spend $5,000 to $10,000 per classroom on A/V equipment, and upgrading multiple classrooms can quickly exceed $100,000 in capital expense. Parish conference facilities also have growing needs for A/V equipment, including sound and lighting controls, projection systems, and both wired and wireless display and sound controls. These systems are normally customized, and include costs for design and installation.
Our deanery schools own roughly 250 projection systems and Smart boards, some of which are over 10 years old. The deanery will spend more than $1 million to replace these systems over the next few years. The technology landscape continues to change rapidly in this area, as flat panels become a cost-effective option to projectors, and control systems become more automated. Parishes and schools have never had so many alternatives to consider. This opens up new opportunities to manage cost and create custom solutions for specific needs.
The Tech Office is here to help manage these projects and their costs. We have established relationships with local vendors that have performed successfully in other Church projects. We track the A/V technology space, and can provide objective recommendations on options for your situation. Contact us to conduct an assessment of your needs when you begin to plan your A/V upgrades.