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Colony Brands continues support of school tech
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MONROE - As the second part of a four-year commitment, Colony Brands Foundation Inc. is donating almost $120,000 to the Monroe school district to go toward the district's technology initiative.

The foundation committed in 2013 to a $400,000 tech donation to be made in $100,000 installments over four years.

"It's been a tremendous partnership," said Ron Olson, the district's business administrator.

He and District Administrator Cory Hirsbrunner recommended a funding proposal to the foundation for the 2014-15 school year, and it sanctioned items for a total of about $119,600.

"This donation will allow the District to accelerate the integration of technology and 21st century skills into the classroom at all levels," Hirsbrunner said in a news release.

The bulk of this year's funds - about $60,000 - will be used to complete the district's wireless infrastructure by installing it in Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy, Parkside Elementary and Northside Elementary.

About $46,100 will go toward teacher training, software, applications and other resources, and the last $13,500 will be used to buy Smartboards, Olson wrote in an email.

The district's focus on a "long-range technology plan" was influenced by feedback received during a community task force, where parents and community members emphasized "the importance of innovation and creativity in education," according to the news release.