Waukesha School Board backs Internet upgrades

By Arthur Thomas

When Waukesha School District students and teachers return to school in the fall they'll experience faster Internet speeds and more wireless access thanks to a network upgrade costing up to $2.8 million the school board approved this week.

"As we encourage, or in some cases require, more and more use of technology in our classrooms we need a reliable and efficient data system that is up and running 100% of the time," Superintendent Todd Gray said in an email.

Gray added that when the technology fails it negatively impacts instructional time for students.

To prevent those technological failures, the district will refresh its technology infrastructure, the district's Chief Information Officer Steve Schlomann said.

Ordinarily, the district would have to make these upgrades over a three-year period, according to Schlomann. However, thanks to a 0% financing deal with Cisco Capital Finance, the district will be able to get the equipment upgrade now and pay for it over a three-year lease. Schlomann said the cost will be between $2.5 million and $2.8 million and the district will own the equipment at the end of the lease.

Wireless service expands

It will involve upgrading the wireless network in most district buildings and adding it to some of the elementary schools. By replacing network switches and other infrastructure, the district will be able to increase the potential speed of the network tenfold. The project also involves upgrading the district's core servers, making them more energy efficient, resulting in cost savings over the long term.

"We're very excited to be able to do this project," Schlomann said.

He added that the project will lay the groundwork for allowing more students, parents and teachers to bring their own devices into the district's buildings. The goal is to move toward a point where all students will have connected devices during the school day to facilitate learning. Schlomann said there are safeguards in place to ensure proper use of the network, including monitoring what websites are visited the most on the district's network.