| The Calhoun-Gilmer Career Center has received $122,000 from West Virginia's School Building Authority for new ventilation to an automotive lab and new automatic entry doors.
The Authority said last week it could not afford to fund new school construction projects next year, but it gave the state Department of Education $1.2 million to put wireless Internet in schools that already have Internet capabilities.
The building authority handed out $2.7 million in what it calls its "3 Percent" grants.
The Department of Education's $1.2 million grant was the largest.
The SBA is now managing more than $84 million worth of school construction across the state, and officials said those projects must be closer to completion before any new construction dollars are handed out.
They said they were concerned about cost overruns on existing projects, including a new consolidated school at Big Otter in Clay County.
The $1.2 million grant to the state Department of Education could put wireless Internet service in as many as one-third of the state's high schools.
Schools will have to apply for a share of the money. It will be given to schools that already have up-and-coming Internet and technology programs.
"It's to extend those schools that already have a good solid structure in place so they have wireless capacity in addition to hard-wired (Internet)," a school official said.
"Every school has Internet access, but we always want to do better. We always hope for more, to get additional funding to reach for more."
The state estimates it would take about $30,000 for one school to get wireless Internet service, allowing connections in every classroom and even providing opportunities for mobile laptop computer labs.
Schools around the state could start applying for the wireless technology funds as early as August, when the Department of Education holds its annual technology conference. The money for now will be limited to schools serving grades 9-12.
A few schools already have some wireless capabilities.
| 
