VENTURA : Board OKs Switch to New Phone System

The board of the Ventura Unified School District approved plans Tuesday night for the district to switch to a more efficient telephone system, a change that will cost $79,165 but result in long-term savings, officials said.

The board voted unanimously to switch to a fixed-rate telephone service and add a voice mail system districtwide. The new service is expected to be in place within a month.

Under the present system, the district pays Pacific Bell four cents for the first minute of each local call and one cent for each additional minute, officials said.

The new Centrex service will allow the district to pay a fixed rate for all local calls, which officials said will save money after the cost of switching to the new service is made up in three to four years.

“It will pay for itself,” school board President Terence Kilbride said. “We will save quite a lot on local phone calls. Right now, we’re paying four cents for every local call and we make thousands a month.” New voice mail service will be the most expensive part of the new service, costing the district more than $50,000, officials said.

The district will sell certificates of participation to pay for the new telephone system over a seven-year period. The sale of certificates, which are used to pay for capital improvements, are similar to the sale of bonds but do not require voter approval, officials said.