Randy Mitchell Allen Schools Will Be Streaming Sporting Events In The Upcoming Season And Will Also Have New Sound/pa Systems At Sports Fields As Well. Additionally, The Streaming Services May Extend To Other School-related, Nonsporting

Allen Schools will be streaming sporting events in the upcoming season and will also have new sound/PA systems at sports fields as well.

Additionally, the streaming services may extend to other school-related, nonsporting events as well.

Josh Vaughn, Allen Schools’ IT Director, spoke about the matter Monday at the regular meeting of the Allen Board of Education.

Vaughn indicated that there will be internet available at the football-baseball fields, and also the softball field as well, which will allow the school to stream games.

“I failed to mention this, before, we had AT&T internet,” Vaughn said, “ and I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to call AT&T customer service, if you can understand them, they might be able to help. It’s bad.

So, we got a local guy named Nathan Niblett who does BLS Broadband, I don’t know if you guys have heard of it, but he doubled our speed. And whenever we need him, he shows up. He spent three or four hours with us one day helping us troubleshoot, and it wasn’t even his (issue/ problem) ... he’s been fantastic. And he’s going to set us up with internet at the softball field. So, now we’ll have the phone and internet out there, (which will allow us to) to stream events.”

Vaughn told the board the softball game between Allen and Varnum -- which was going on during Monday’s meeting was being streamed and showed them on his phone. Allen won the game, 15-2.

The streaming will be free to the public, but the school system will sell ads to help pay for the service.

Streaming games will be available through Hudl, a video hosting service. There is a website for Hudl, but Hudl also has an app available for smartphones and other devices.

Vaughn and Superintendent Jeff Hiatt indicated that the streaming can be used for all school events, such as programs, trips to the stock show, etc.

Vaughn cautioned that this is the first time that the school system has done this, so there may be some issues at first.

He indicated that feedback is welcome. “For football and basketball, we have automated cameras,” Vaughn said. “(the one at the football field is), Jimmy (Wilson, Maintenance Director) installed way up on top of the press box, we’ve been working with Hudl to get it zeroed in. We program it, tell it when to start and it just fires up and goes. And basketball will have the same thing.”

Vaughn said the cameras are programed to follow the ball during football and basketball games.

Vaughn and Wilson, who also attended the meeting, indicated that with events such as baseball, softball, auditorium programs, etc., someone will need to manually film with an iPad.

Additionally, away games for basketball and football will also need to be filmed manually, unless the opposing team’s school also has Hudl and allows Allen to hook into the system.

“It’s very exciting, we’re trying to make progress,” Vaughn said. “I believe if the students see all the adults trying to make things better for them, it kind of lifts their spirits. Like, ‘They’re trying hard to make this place better for me, I can try harder, too.’ And everything that IT does, Jimmy (Wilson) is right there with me. I mean, I wouldn’t be able to, like these cameras, he’s in the sky lift (installing and adjusting the cameras). We collaborate a lot.”

Wilson also updated the board on all the school improvement projects, both current and what occurred over the summer break.

Better Sound

Also, on the subject of technology, Vaughn said the sound systems at Allen’s sporting fields will be upgraded.

“The sound system (down at the football stadium), as we all know, needs to be better,” Vaughn said. “And there was some damage over the summer which made it even worse. So, we contacted a place in Oklahoma City to get a quote to replace it and they wanted just under $30,000 to replace the sound system.” Vaughn said he and Dr. Mark Jones researched the matter and came up with a system that cost about $2,000, which, he said, wouldn’t be concert quality, but would be plenty good enough for what they’re doing.

“Well, right after we got all that equipment ordered, the Chickasaw Nation showed up, and they’re going to pay for the concert quality (sound system). So, what we’re going to do is take that sound system that we ordered, split it in half and put half at the baseball field and half at the softball field. So, we’re going to now have PA systems at all of our facilities for about two grand. So, we’re pretty happy about that.”

Vaughn said, sadly, the new system won’t be installed by August 30, the date of the first home game.

“But they will have it, they assured us, by October 4th,” Vaughn said,” so, Homecoming weekend, we get to roll out the new PA.”

Also, during administrative reports, Hiatt spoke about testing from last year.

“The big thing is, and next month we’ll have all the data, and I can hand that to you guys and you can look at it better, preliminary testing came in from last year on our third grade through eighth grade and it looked really good,” Hiatt said.

Hiatt indicated the test results were an improvement over prior years.

Consent Agenda

The board approved the consent agenda, which included the minutes of the July 9, 2024, Board Meeting; The fiscal year 20242025 Purchase Orders and Encumbrances: FUND 11 -- General Fund numbers 130 through 147 ($26,291.30); FUND 21 – Building Fund numbers 24 through 28 ($3,079,254.87); FUND 22 – Child Nutrition Fund numbers 21 through 34 ($315,775.); FUND 33 – Building Bond Fund #1 ($279.00); Treasurer’s report; Activity Fund report; Contract agreement for Career and Technology Education Programs Allocations (Ag Education, Business and Information Technology Education and Family and Consumer Sciences) for the year ending 6/30/2025; Fundraisers (Athletics, Library, Softball, FFA, BPA, Basketball); Surplus Technology (70 Chromebooks, ten desktops, 70 Access Points, fifteen switches and one controller).

Action Items

The board approved all action items, which included Allen Public Schools will taking the ACT as the locally selected, national recognized assessment for the College and Career Readiness Assessment (CCRA) for fiscal year 2025.

The district paying all staff members breakfast ($2.37) and lunch ($4.97), for fiscal year 2025.

Executive Session Upon returning from executive session, the board approved fiscal year contracts for all teachers and support staff.

The board also accepted the resignation of cafeteria worker, Gina Alcaida.