The foundation for a bright education: ; New school set to open; Technology of West Side Elementary goes 'above and beyond'

When the roughly 375 students walk into the brand new West SideElementary, they might be shocked by their new colorfulsurroundings.

The floors are spotted with a rainbow of tiles throughout thebuilding and a colorful mosaic adorns the main foyer.

But the decor can't beat the technology that touches every aspectof the school. The lighting, security, HVAC, fire alarms, criticalmonitoring and lockdown systems all work together. But each one alsooperates independently of the others.

That means if one system becomes unresponsive, the rest cancontinue to operate normally.

"This is the first totally integrated smart building in thestate," said …