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Board approves RingCentral to replace aging Mitel/ ShoreTel phone system
Summary
District technology director recommended RingCentral as the replacement for the district’s Mitel system (which has filed for bankruptcy). Board approved the purchase (motion passed 6–0); hardware may be funded from the facility referendum and operating costs from the general fund technology budget.
The Sparta Area School District board approved purchase of a new district‑wide VoIP phone system using RingCentral after administrators said the district’s existing Mitel system has uncertain vendor support.
Matt, the district’s new director of technology, briefed the board that Mitel — the vendor that owns the current system — filed for bankruptcy and that vendor support, replacement parts and future licensing were uncertain. The technology team evaluated three finalists (RingCentral, Fortive Voice and Nextiva), comparing hardware costs and annual operating costs for software and support. Based on features, safety‑and‑security options and cost, staff recommended RingCentral.
Staff told the board RingCentral met priorities including classroom‑hold and lockdown integration, text‑message notifications preferred by some parents, and the ability for staff to route calls to a personal device while preserving the office number display. The district estimated hardware costs (phones and onsite equipment) that can be funded from the previously‑approved facilities referendum; ongoing software and operating costs would be paid from the technology budget in the general fund.
Board members approved the purchase by voice vote (motion passed 6–0). Staff said the district rounded up phone counts for pricing and that the proposed deployment includes phones for each occupied space (desk phones for school offices and occupied rooms) with mobile/soft‑phone options optional for staff.
The technology director said peer districts are making similar changes and that the district’s purchase is timed to avoid a service disruption, given the uncertain future of the current vendor.
