Over the summer, the school worked to update technology more. Technicians upgraded computers in several of the labs, and added two new labs to the media center.

So far, the general feedback about the school's technology has been positive. “For the most part, we have upgraded a lot of the technology in the school to make it more reliable. However, we don't have the luxury of having every computer brand new,” said technology support assistant Bill Powers.

The problem with older systems is that the software they run and the hardware they are built with is continuously being improved and renovated. As new software is added and existing programs receive updates, the systems become more “physically” taxed, requiring newer hardware components, like faster processors, to keep up with the software they run. Software is always upgrading as it downloads new components from the Internet that make it faster or easier to use, while hardware upgrades require new physical parts for the computer. These upgrades cause a strain not only on a computer’s hard drive, but on the school’s finances, as well.

“With technology the hardest thing to get past is how much it cost. Technology is always changing and evolving, but it will never be fully up-to-date,” said Powers. Because of the speed at which new and improved products are added to the market, it is literally impossible to have up-to-date technology at any given time. It is a challenge to have fast and reliable computers when the computer was built some years ago and is running current software.

One such example of this is the older computers in the media center, which are running a recent version of Microsoft's operating system, Windows XP. However, the combination of modern software on older computers does not mix well. Although the computers are functional, they have several problems such as long startup times, and increased waiting periods.

There is also concern about the number of computer labs available in the school. When the 2 media center labs are completed, there will be eight computer labs available in the school. With about 25 computers in each lab, there is more technology than ever available to students. Certain labs are set aside for specific computer courses, the math program Carnegie, or English department classes. It can be a difficult task to reserve the media center. Even if a teacher manages to book it, computers are not always available to every student in the class, due to large class sizes.

Although the school's technology is not completely up to date, it still functions at a high enough level to allow students and staff access to the basic functions needed in today's school environment.