Perhaps I'm a bit weird, but things like this bother me in ways that nobody else seems to think about:
- The $180,000 is for the entire state. That's nothing. I don't know how many schools Kansas has, but let's say it's 100. That's $1800 per school. Come on.
- Why can't the school just ask some locals to build them some phone lockers? Just put out a school bulletin asking for some volunteers. I'm certain that in the entire state of Kansas they have plenty of companies and locals who would be willing to make the simplest of tiny, metal lockers.
They talk about these complicated technical solutions when all that's necessary is a very thin, very small traditional locker. Make the kids bring their own lock! That's what we did with lockers when I was in high school in the 90s.
Those old school steel lockers were certified for fire resistance, BTW. Not because they went through some special certification process, but because they were steel and painted with school-certified paint (which every school district already has plenty of).
When individuals do it, it's PIRACY!!!
When corporations do it, it's merely copyright violations.