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Television in schools--Continued from page 1or open (available to anyone on the cable) or a mixture of the two.All service is provided free to the district, as part of Cablecom’s franchise agreement with the city. The district must buy television sets—one for every three teaching stations in the schools— and hire a director to produce its local programs.Estimated cost of the 728 sets needed to serve all the schools is $270,81(5, {The school board voted to buy all color sets.) A director’s salary is now being estimated at $10,500 a year.In addition, when educational television is 100 per cent, in operation (about four years from now is the guess) the district, will pay $34,200 a year to the South Texas Educational Broadcasting Council.The council is the force behind KEDT, Channel 1(5, a local educational station which its backers say should be on the air this spring, learning educat ional television across South Texas from Refugio to Kingsville,Initially, KEDT will do nothing more than relay the signal of Austin’s KLRN to South Texans. The local station will make the KLRN signal available to persons outside Corpus Ciiristi and to those inside the city who do not use the cable. Cable users will be able to pick up KLRN programs either off the cable or off the open air via KEDT.According to Don Weber, president of the broadcasting council, “We anticipate it will be a year or so before we do any programming of our own.” Eventually, however, KEDT should broadcast a mixture of KLRN and other programming.The local station must wait for two things in order to start broadcasting. First, Cablecom, which will give the station the KLRN signal free, must get cable strung to the KEDT studios at 500 N. Carrizo. Second, KEDT must get a government permit to erect its transmission tower near Petronilla. Weber said both these things should happen by next spring,Weber said the KEDT studio itself is ready for operation now. The studio is the old North side Junior High campus, being teased to the broadcasting council by the school district for $1 a year.It is furnished with about $1 million in broadcasting equipment, purchased by the eouncif for the cut-rate of $400,000 and moved from a TV station in Alvin tn the studios here, Weber saidThe council has received a $422,400 grant from the U.S. Office of Education and Weber said “about a third” of $350,000 in locaksupport. money needed has been raised.He estimated (be annual operating budget, of the slat ion will be about $100,000. part of this will come from local fund-raising; part will come from additional government grants. The mainpart is expected to come from area school districts who pay to receive ihc station’s daytime instructional program-niing.Weber said so far, only the Corpus Christi district has agreed to pay. The district will pay 75 cents per child each year, which, when all children are using the programming, will amount to about $32,400 annuallv. This will be matched bv a grant from the state.Why are the district and the slate going to pay the South Texas Education Broadcasting Council for something (the KLRN signal) which the schools also will receive free from Cablecom?“That’s a fair question and it's been asked before,” said Weber. “First, since it costs the Austin and San Antonio districts money to produce KI,RN!s programming, there’s a moral and legal question about another district ‘pirating’ its signal.”Weber said part of the $1.50 per child which the council receives will he turned over to KLRN. The amount is now under negotiation, he said. “We, of course, hope to keep as much as possible for our operations.”The payment (o KLRN also will give the school district access to KLRN!s film library, instructional aids, lesson plans and schedules.Could the district, have made this arrangement directly wilh KLRN? Davis said that probably could have been done. However, the availability of KEDT facilities will give the Corpus Christi district “more flexibility” in programming, he said.For instance, technicians at the KEDT studio could (ape KLRN programs and air (hem upon request by Hie local district. Or, programs could be substituted for the KLRN programs. “It. gives us some control of programming,” Davissaid.
Newspaper Details
Corpus Christi Caller Times
Corpus Christi, Texas, US
Sun, Oct 24, 1971
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Sammi B.
NA 27 Feb 2021
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