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Superintendent to recommend Clearway Fiber for district internet and WAN; E‑Rate will cover majority of costs

3146575 · April 8, 2025
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Summary

Superintendent will recommend at the next board meeting that Clearway Fiber be awarded a five‑year contract for Internet access and wide area network (WAN) services beginning July 2025; the district presented bid prices, estimated E‑Rate contributions, and the contract term.

Dr. Ryan presented the district's request for proposals and recommended awarding a five‑year contract to Clearway Fiber for Internet access (IA) and wide area network (WAN) services starting July 2025.

The district received two bids for Internet access and six bids for WAN services. Clearway's 10 gigabits‑per‑second options were both the lowest priced and highest scored in the RFP evaluation, Dr. Ryan said. The recommended contract term is July 2025 through June 2030 with two optional 12‑month extensions.

Estimated costs presented to the board were: Internet access, $161,700 (E‑Rate contribution $145,530; local technology funds $16,170); WAN (Clearway 10 Gbps), $793,800 (E‑Rate $674,730; local technology contribution $119,070). Dr. Ryan said the district expects the program to move to Service Provider Invoicing (SPI), which will have E‑Rate funds billed directly to the program and reduce the district's need to wait for reimbursement.

Board members asked about technical distinctions between Category 1 and Category 2 E‑Rate funding, coverage in rural areas, contingency plans for remote learning, the number of vendors who submitted bids, and whether 10 Gbps capacity will be sufficient. Dr. Ryan explained Category 1 covers connections that tie buildings together and to the internet, while Category 2 covers in‑building connections such as wireless access points and switches. He said the district maintains contingency agreements with Verizon and T‑Mobile for cellular service on devices and noted state and private fiber expansion projects that the district expects will improve household availability within 12–18 months.

Dr. Ryan also noted an ongoing legal challenge in federal court that could affect the E‑Rate program but said the district expects no immediate change to its current contribution percentage. He said the district's E‑Rate contribution percentages for the presented proposal are 90% for Category 1 and 85% for Category 2, subject to recalculation by the program.

The item was presented for information; Dr. Ryan said the superintendent will recommend awarding the contract to Clearway Fiber at the next board meeting for board action.