Carson City School District is ready for new millennium

Carson City School District officials are more concerned with vandalism than any Y2K computer glitch.

Director of Operations Mike Mitchell said he is not expecting a Y2K disaster but the district will be prepared in case there is one.

A team of two staff members, one from building maintenance and one lead custodian, will be at each Carson City school on New Year's Eve.

He said staff members were chosen because they are familiar with the schools and will know how to shut off the water or the natural gas in case of an emergency. Some experts concluded that there may be computer problems which could cause some power outages or transmission problems.

However, he said he does not anticipate any problems with electricity, gas or water.

"We're more worried about vandalism and that sort of thing than anything else," Mitchell said.

All the exterior lights will be on at each school and mechanical systems will be in full operation. Although the sites will be fully functional, they will not be open to the public.

About 45 staffers will meet at the district office at 8 p.m. on Dec. 31. After a brief training, one team will leave for each school, two teams will go the high school.

The staff at each school will have communication access to the school district's administration office. The district office will be in contact with the sheriff and fire departments.

Mitchell said that over the past year, the district has investigated all computer systems and has received confirmation from all the vendors that the systems are ready for the new millennium.

"As far as we know, everything is Y2K compliant," he said.