MANSON — The Manson Northwest Webster Community School District Board of Education recently approved two large expenditures for the district, totaling more than $30,000.

During the June 17 school board meeting, a plan to purchase a new scoreboard for the district’s football field for $20,226 was approved.

“It’s been on our to-do list for quite a number of years,” said Superintendent Justin Daggett.

Daggett said there was a “sense of urgency” to purchasing a new scoreboard because the scoreboard the district has used for the past two decades is no longer supported by the manufacturer, Daktronics Inc., of Brookings, South Dakota, and parts for repairs are no longer available.

“So if something happens in football season or track season, we would be stuck without a scoreboard,” Daggett said. “So we decided rather than to roll the dice and try to get another year out of it, and we’re doing some other work out at the football field right now, so let’s just get this part of that done as well so that we don’t risk it.”

Daggett said the district considered quotes from Daktronics and Fair-Play Scoreboards for the new scoreboard.

“We have a good history with Daktronics as far as customer support, so we felt good going with them,” he said.

The superintendent said the $20,000 price tag on the scoreboard is also in-line with what the district needed.

“You can go with the video boards, you can pay easily over $100,000 for a board, depending on how fancy you want to get,” Daggett said. “This was reasonable for what we needed and we felt this was a good deal.”

The scoreboard will be paid for out of the district’s capital projects funds and will also feature four spots for ads on the board.

“We’ve got four spots to sell advertisements and the revenue generated from selling those ads is going to go toward paying for the board,” Daggett said. “So over time, the board will pay for itself.”

Daggett said he expects the new scoreboard to serve the district for at least 20 years, just like the one before it.

The school board also approved a $10,603.48 purchase of a new projector for the MNW Junior-Senior High School auditorium.

The new projector, to be purchased from Central Iowa Systems/Tech Zone, of Jefferson, will be used for presentations for students, as well as staff professional development, guest speakers and student performances.

Daggett said the need for a new projector was similar to the need for a new scoreboard — the projector is “quite dated,” inefficient and the manufacturer no longer supports it.

“It was time too get an upgrade so that we don’t run the risk of having it go out when we need it,” he said.

The new projector will be purchased with either capital projects funds or physical plant and equipment levy funds, the superintendent said. The new projector is expected to last “at least” 10 years.

“They’ve been needs for a while, so I’m glad we’re able to fit them into the budget this year and not have to worry about it for the next few years,” Daggett said.