Johnson County board reviews proposal to extend internet to high school baseball and softball fields

Johnson County school leaders discussed installing district-managed internet service to the Troy Ann High School baseball and softball fields so the district could stream games and link web‑based security cameras.

The proposal was presented as an option for the one area on the Troy Ann campus that lacks connectivity. The board was told the fields are “the only place on our campus that does not have Internet access,” and that streaming and the district’s Vigilant web‑based cameras drove the request.

School technology staff said a commercial cellular hotspot would not meet federal child‑safety filtering requirements and would be operated by a third party rather than the district. “If we were to put a hot spot or anything outside of school‑based connectivity … it would not fall under the same firewall and provisions that we have in place, to comply with those standards,” said Rob, a staff member in the district’s technology/IT area. He said a hotspot would be provided by a third‑party carrier such as Verizon or a similar vendor and would not be tied to the district’s content filters.

School staff and the board discussed alternatives. Technology staff said the district typically prefers a hardwired or locally hosted connection that can be routed through existing district firewall and content‑filtering controls, rather than a cellular hotspot. Board members raised budget concerns about the cost of running fiber or a hardwired line uphill to the athletic complex.

The discussion did not result in a formal vote or a final direction; board members were presented with vendor quotes and asked to consider whether to include the project in future budget work. Staff noted the decision would be at the pleasure of the board and that installing district‑managed connectivity would allow the Vigilant cameras to be accessed remotely for security as well as enable live streaming for athletics.

No formal action was recorded in the work session minutes on this item; board members asked staff to continue gathering information and to present budget impacts if the board wishes to move forward.