People trying to call Nebo District schools or the district office are discovering the phone numbers printed in the newest phone directory are incorrect.
All but three of Nebo's schools changed their numbers effective in December, as have the district offices, because of a changeover in the telephone switching and operating systems.Finance director Errol Smith said the district made the change to bring it more up-to-date with current communications technology. The change will pay off in the long run for Nebo's students and educators but also may frustrate those trying to communicate with them.
"We've known as early as last September what our new phone numbers were going to be, but they won't get published until they're already in service," Smith said.
The December 1991-92 US WEST Direct White & Yellow Pages instead lists the district's old phone numbers. People calling those numbers are told that they have been disconnected. However, the recording gives no forwarding numbers, and callers must contact either directory assistance or the Nebo offices, 798-4000, to get the new numbers.
Smith said US WEST requires that call intercept be installed on all numbers on a system. And with a $15 monthly intercept charge per line, "that's just more than we can afford."
Nebo officials have been trying to get the work done for more than two years, while work was being done on the switching systems in Payson, Springville and Spanish Fork.
"That change will allow us to have some capabilities we've never had before," he said.
Those capabilities include putting the entire district on the Centron system - which allows for features such as call waiting, call forwarding and three-way conference calling - and the possibility of having a library catalog system similar to that in the Provo School District, he said.
"We may be able to link the directories of all the schools' libraries, as well as the local libraries, too, so our students will have a greater access to information," Smith said. "It's very exciting."
Additionally, Nebo now has dedicated data communications lines, such as those necessary for hooking up modems and computer systems between offices, allowing schools to share information with each other and the district offices more easily. The system will also improve switching times for callers, Smith said.
Smith did not disclose the exact cost to the district for the change but said that officials compensated for the increased costs in Nebo's fiscal 1992 budget, adding that the system could save Nebo money in the long run.
"Along with the possibilities for our library system, we think that the new system is worth all the headaches and frustrations," Smith said. "We think that once people find out why the change took place they will, too."