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HCISD installs Wi‑Fi on buses after E‑rate award covering 90% of cost
Summary
Harlingen CISD completed installation of Kajeet smart‑bus Wi‑Fi on 110 buses under an E‑rate award; district officials said the award covered 90% of implementation costs and included one year of service, and staff are applying for further E‑rate funding for future data plans.
Harlingen Consolidated ISD officials told the board’s facilities and safety committee that the district has completed installation of Kajeet smart‑bus Wi‑Fi on 110 buses after an E‑rate award that covered 90 percent of the implementation cost.
The committee heard the award totaled $218,605 with a 10 percent local match. Staff said the award covered installation and the first 12 months of service, and the system is live. Jaime Reyes, the district’s IT director, participated in the procurement and vendor selection, according to staff remarks.
Officials said the routers in each bus connect to cellular networks; students connect to a filtered Wi‑Fi network while riding. The district confirmed the bus filtering aligns with the internet safety and filtering used at schools.
Committee members asked about recurring costs. Staff said the initial grant paid for the first 12 months (July 1–June 30) and that the district has submitted a Category 1 E‑rate application to fund the data plan for the next school year. Staff estimated the annual data service cost at about $136,000 to cover 10 buses, with 90 percent of that cost typically reimbursed by E‑rate. If future E‑rate funding is not approved, staff said the district will revert to a smaller, locally funded rollout (the district maintains a local budget for Wi‑Fi on 10 buses).
Board members asked to be notified about any future recurring costs and contingency planning; staff said any continuation of service would be subject to future board review and funding availability.
