District to be equipped with updated technology infrastructure
The Pequot Lakes School District will soon be outfitted with an updated technology infrastructure that will be in place for the 2012-13 school year.
The infrastructure includes a backup system, faster Internet connections for a growing student body and support for a "bring your own device" platform for teachers and faculty.
CTC IT of Brainerd, the company the school board recently hired for IT services, presented its new plan to the board at its regular meeting Monday night, June 18. The plan was approved unanimously.
One of CTC's main concerns for the district was the lack of a backup system. Currently the school has no backup system for its servers, so a new system will have a consistent system in place.
The eight servers currently in use at the district will be replaced by one physical server and several other virtual servers. CTC said using virtual servers will reduce the number of points of failure and simplify the way the district manages its servers.
The school will also get a new wired and wireless system. CTC will implement the wireless system using Aerohive Networks. The system is a wireless cloud controller, which CTC said is one-fifth the cost of any other solution.
Increased traffic demands between both school locations will be met with an upgrade to a one gigabyte Internet connection. TDS will provide the one gigabyte connection for $1,200 a month.
This is an increase from the previous 100 megabyte connection, which costs the school $750 a month.
School board members were concerned about the cost of the upgrade, which represents a $25,000 increase over the life of the contract.
CTC said the increase in connection quality compared with the increase in price represented a good value for the school.
The school board's consensus after discussion was in agreement with CTC's suggestions.
The total cost of the system, not counting service contracts, is around $116,000.
In other business Monday, the school board:
Approved contracts for many staff members, including the schools' principals; business manager Lea St. Onge; director of curriculum, assessment and technology Laurie Wig; Randall Maxfield; Mark Mortenson; Patty Buell; Rita Merschman; new science teacher Benjamin Starns; and adult basic education coordinator Dawn Bergeson. Kristin Harsha was hired as head girls' hockey coach for the winter 2012 season.
Approved the consent agenda on a split vote. Though the agenda consisted of many items, the board was split on the acceptance of the sanitation bid. The school board chose to accept the lowest bid, which was from Nisswa Sanitation. This is a switch from previous provider Pequot Lakes Sanitation, which has been a provider for the school district for many years. Board members Curt Johnson and Mike Erholtz voted against the motion.
