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Fremont Re-1 technology director outlines network, cybersecurity, and device work
Summary
Director of Technology Daniel Copa updated the Fremont Re-1 Board on network upgrades, cybersecurity threats, device management and staffing, saying the district now supports more than 5,000 network connections, 6,000 Chromebooks and a 24/7 camera system retained for a minimum of 14 days.
Daniel Copa, director of technology for Fremont Re-1, told the Board of Education on March 24 that his department has completed a year of network upgrades, expanded device support and strengthened cybersecurity measures across the district.
Copa said the district replaced end-of-life network switches at every building except the high school—deferred because of ongoing construction—and now manages “over 5,000 individual network connections” across 11 buildings. He said the new switches give IT more visibility into what is connected and make troubleshooting faster. Copa also described the district’s high-availability configuration, saying a secondary firewall will take over with roughly a 180-second interruption if the primary fails.
The presentation placed heavy emphasis on cybersecurity. Copa showed an active-threat map and said attacks originate from many countries; he described recurring phishing attempts that impersonate staff and asked employees to verify unusual payment requests in person. “They’re using AI to mimic things very, very well,” Copa said, and urged continued staff training and awareness to reduce the risk of a single click allowing intruders access.
Copa summarized the district’s video and storage capacity: eight servers that currently store about 550 terabytes of local video data and 363 cameras with 839 individual lenses across campuses. He said the district is required to retain video evidence for a minimum of 14 days and will add a ninth server as new cameras are installed for construction projects.
On devices, Copa said the district now has roughly 6,000 Chromebooks and has finished migrating Windows devices to Windows 11 in anticipation of Microsoft's end-of-life timetable for Windows 10. He noted the district repaired about 275 devices this school year and logged more than 2,600 IT support tickets, with roughly 100 still open at the time of the meeting.
Copa credited his team—named during the presentation—for much of the work and said consolidating the IT staff into the Access Building has improved coordination. Board members praised the update; one asked for clarification that “SIS” referred to the student information system (Copa confirmed it did). Superintendent Adam Hartman and multiple board members thanked Copa and his staff for the work.
Board next steps included continued emphasis on staff phishing training and monitoring of construction-related network work as new switches and cameras are added.
