The Truth About the Useful Life of SMART Boards

I often wonder where people in town get some of their facts and if they ever stop to question how they know if something they hear is true before they repeat it.  Take the following example about the purchase of SMART Boards that I heard recently. 

On Thursday night following the First Selectman candidate debate in the Masuk auditorium I approached a group of four or five people speaking to a local reporter. I wanted to speak to the reporter, so I approached the group and stopped a few paces away to wait until the group finished their conversation.  

While standing there the woman in the group closest to me made a statement about the purchase of SMART boards. Her statement questioned why the Board of Education (BOE) bought smart boards given that the technology would become obsolete and the boards would need to be replaced "in two to three years." It took all of my self control to not interrupt and ask her where she got that idea. I had no doubt that she was wrong, but I just kept my mouth shut. 

I decided to do just a little investigation to confirm the real truth. I wrote to the BOE Director of Technology. After all, this is the person that lays out the technology plan, gathers bids, requests fund to be spent, and plans the installation of the smart boards. I asked three short, simple questions and here is what I learned: 

Question 1: Approximately how old is the oldest smart board in use within the school system? The answer was three years old and it is in Monroe Elementary school.

Question 2: How many years do you estimate is the useful life of a smart board
before it should be replaced? The response was "Using existing technology they will last until damaged or worn which could range 6 to 8 years but extending them to 10 with replacement parts could work."

Question 3: Does the school system have any plans to replace any smart boards
during this school year (2011-12)? The response: "No, only if damaged."

So there it is — three simple questions and three simple answers — clearly showing that woman who said smart boards would have to be replaced in two to three years was wrong. I don't know where she got the idea in the first place or how many other people have the same mistaken idea.