With an outdated and unreliable public announcement system, Galileo’s administration has started implementing major upgrades to improve school-wide communication.
Mr. Flores explained that the new system has been in the works for about six months. Construction started earlier this school year and has been progressing steadily. The goal is to ensure that announcements can be clearly heard in every classroom through new speaker boxes that will be installed across the campus.
“This new system will allow us to communicate much more effectively,” Mr. Flores said. “Right now, some classrooms can’t hear announcements at all because they either don’t have phones or the phones don’t work properly. That’s a big issue we’re working to solve.”
The new PA system is expected to be completed by the end of summer. Each classroom will have a dedicated speaker box, making announcements more consistent and accessible.
Ms. Bettie shared why this project has been such a priority. “The current PA system is basically busted,” she said. “It only works through the phones, and if a class doesn’t have a working phone — like in the gym — they don’t hear anything.”
She added that this has been a long time coming. “Washington High School recently upgraded their PA, so we wanted to follow. The crew working on this has put in a lot of effort — some nights they stay until 2 a.m. to keep things on track. A lot of hard work is going into this.”
Mr. Thayer echoed the sentiment, calling the decision “long overdue. I’m really glad we’re finally upgrading. I can’t hear anything clearly from my classroom phone right now. This is going to make a huge difference.”
Students have also voiced their support.
Senior Jett Li shared a personal experience that highlighted the importance of the upgrade.
“I remember last year during a lockdown drill, we didn’t even know what was happening because our classroom’s system wasn’t working,” he said. “Our teacher only realized something was wrong when other teachers started shutting their doors. It was really scary. I’m glad they’re fixing it, even if I won’t be here next year — at least future students will be safer.”
Vicky W, a junior, said, “It’s not loud enough. I can’t hear it in some of my classes. There’ve been announcements I missed completely. It’s very important to fix — especially in emergencies.” They added that although they haven’t felt directly in danger, the thought of missing a serious announcement is unsettling: “Now that you ask me, yeah — it does make me nervous.”
Another junior, Tammy F, echoed the same concern. “I wouldn’t say I’ve missed an important announcement, but I literally can’t hear any of them. They’re already whispering into the mic, and all you hear is this roar of static.” When asked why fixing the system matters, she said, “If there’s something like a school event or emergency, and no one can hear it, that’s a big problem. It’s already too quiet. If they don’t fix it, no one’s going to take it seriously.”
From staff to students, the Galileo community seems to agree: a working PA system is more than just a convenience — it’s a necessity, and we are glad to see administrators making change.
