Board approves contract to replace district servers with BrightSpan Technologies

The Prosser School District board voted to contract with BrightSpan Technologies LLC to replace the district’s aging servers, approving the measure in a unanimous voice vote. The board approved the contract after district staff described a multi-step migration to move data from servers originally configured in 2012 into newer virtual environments.

District staff told the board the contract is necessary because current servers are so out of date that crews must create intermediate virtual servers to migrate data in stages — for example, moving data from a 2012 server to a 2019 virtual image, then to a 2022 image, before landing on the district’s new virtual servers. A staff member said the work involves creating intermediate virtual servers, copying data and reestablishing user permissions so staff accounts map correctly to drives and files.

The district clarified there is no hardware expense for the project; the contract covers labor for installation and migration. A staff member explained some of the work is complex because the district’s shared files and permissions (“Housel file” in the packet) have not functioned correctly all year and will require time to correct. The consultant chosen has prior knowledge of the network, the staff member said, so project costs are not expected to reach the higher range quoted in the packet.

The board moved and seconded the contract, and members signified approval by voice. The board’s motion was recorded as approved; the transcript did not include a roll-call vote or a numerical tally. No amendments to the contract were recorded during the discussion.

The district’s materials packet included a cover letter describing the creation of 12 new servers and migration of six out-of-date servers to new virtual versions; staff clarified the technical steps and said the final configuration will provide six new virtual servers on four of the district’s hosts. Staff also said the work is largely not feasible to perform in-house within the same timeframe because of staff capacity and an expected learning curve.

Board members asked about hardware, licensing and whether the contractor would perform physical removals; staff answered that there is no hardware or licensing cost included and the contract covers the migration work only. The board approved the contract to proceed.

The district did not publish a firm project start or completion date in the board discussion, nor did it provide a final contract amount in the meeting minutes. Staff said they expect the job to be completed efficiently by the selected vendor and do not anticipate the higher-end cost estimate in the packet.

Prosser School District staff will return with implementation details as the migration proceeds.