CENTERBURG — Solar panels on Centerburg Elementary’s roof are being removed due to faulty wiring that caused an electrical fire in May.
The elementary school’s fire has led the district to review the its’ solar panel system with the providers Solar Planet.
At Monday’s board of education meeting, Centerburg superintendent Ryan Gallwitz said conversations are ongoing when it comes to the future of the high school’s solar panels – if the panels are going to be removed or stay, due to safety concerns.
The solar panels at the elementary school were commissioned in June 2012, a year after the panels were commissioned at the middle/high school building.
Solar Planet has not responded to an email message from Knox Pages seeking comment for this story.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the board accepted a contract for a state-of-the-art, district-wide security system. The contract is not to exceed $250,000, being paid by a statehouse safety grant the district received in February.
Gallwitz said the new system is needed due to the current camera’s being out of date with “cloudy” picture quality and difficulties with zooming the lens.
The elementary building will have approximately 60 cameras, while the middle/high school will have 80, Gallwitz said. The new system is expected to be operational by September.
Gallwitz noted one of the best features of the new camera system will be how it communicates with law enforcement.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office, the current law enforcement agency that operates in Centerburg, would be able to access the security system footage “anywhere in the world,” Gallwitz said.
Previously law enforcement would need to be linked to the district’s WiFi to access the security footage.
