BUCHANAN — Technology is changing the face of education. Blackboards and overhead projectors are being replaced with computer display projectors and document cameras. Elementary school students no longer make dioramas but are learning to shoot and edit video.

Buchanan Community Schools are hoping to embrace this technology by passing a $31 million bond.

While the main focus of the bond is to renovate and expand the district’s buildings, technology improvements cannot be ignored, Supervisor Andrea van der Laan told community members at Wednesday’s community forum at Buchanan High School.

The bond would improve the infrastructure of the schools to support technological advances. The main issue is improving the fiber-optic network.

“All the things we want to integrate is only possible right now at the high school because we can’t push out the bandwidth to (other schools),” said Phil Place, network and computer systems administrator for the district.

One piece of technology that has been introduced at the high school that van der Laan hopes to introduce to the entire district is portable interactive multimedia presentation systems (IMPS) that include a document camera, sound system, computer projector and a host of software.

“This is encouraging classes to be more dynamic,” Place said. “Teachers are loving these things.”

The district also plans to roll out new iPads for every student at the high school next year. Teachers received them in December of last year and are figuring out which applications will be best to enhance learning.

Place said the iPads will allow “a large portion of the assignments to be paperless.” Long gone will be the days of printing out dozens of copies of a quiz, when students can take them on their devices.

Van der Laan said the district will get significant savings through purchasing electronic copies of textbooks for the iPad rather than buying physical copies of the books.

“In the end it will save the district a lot of money,” van der Laan said.

The technology improvements at the high school have been funded by a $1.2 million school improvement grant from the state. But the bond would help provide the funding and infrastructure to bring the technology to all the schools in the district.

The bond would also fund improvements to the buildings.

If the bond passes, Stark Elementary School, which needs the most fixing, would be shut down, while the other buildings would be remodeled or expanded.

The middle school, housing the fifth through eighth grades, would get a 36,000-square-foot addition that would include an expanded gym, eight new classrooms, additional parking, replaced lighting, heating and water piping, among other changes. The site would also be rearranged to improve student safety.

Ottawa Elementary would be expanded by 33,000-square-feet with a new physical education/multi-purpose space, nine new classrooms, and new music, visual arts and life skills spaces. The welcome center, media center, computer lab and parking lot would also be expanded. The building would be for pre-kindergarten through second grade.

Moccasin Elementary, which would be for third and fourth grades, would not expand but see upgrades. New lighting, air conditioning and an expanded media center, computer lab and welcome center would be added.

The high school would make some minor changes for compliance with the American Disabilities Act.

It would take three years for all the improvements to be made, and at that point Stark Elementary would close.

The bond would cost taxpayers with a taxable value of $50,000 about $140 a year. The vote on the bond will take place May 3.

For more information about the bond proposal, visit www.buchananschools.com.