Board approves $34,639 network infrastructure upgrade to increase security and redundancy
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Summary
The board approved a $34,638.77 contract to modernize district network infrastructure, add redundancy across every building and replace aging appliances; the work will be paid from the sinking fund and is intended to reduce single points of failure and enable future cellular backup options.
Marshall Public Schools approved a $34,638.77 technology-network infrastructure project aimed at modernizing and securing the district’s network, creating redundancy across every building and replacing dated appliances and server infrastructure.
District staff presented the project as a multi-site upgrade that will install modern firewalls and network components at each building to eliminate single points of failure. The changes are intended to allow the district to add a cellular backup per building in the future so that an outage in one building would not disrupt network service district-wide.
Staff recommended awarding the work to IT Outlet (presented as a vendor offering proven reliability and operational efficiency), even though it was not the lowest-cost bid. The board voted to approve the recommendation; the total contract will be paid from the district sinking fund.
Trustees asked for clarifications about what redundancy means in this context; staff replied that redundancy removes single points of failure so that if one device or connection fails another takes over with minimal or no noticeable downtime.
The motion was moved by Dr. Lauren Brown and seconded by Trustee Jerry Underhill and passed by voice vote.