Beech Grove presents technology refresh, expands cybersecurity measures

Tim Ressler, director of technology for Beech Grove City Schools, told the board on July 15 that the district has completed several infrastructure and security upgrades and altered its device-management strategy to improve stability and sustainability.

Ressler said the technology department now employs three on-site technology support technicians and three integration specialists who formerly served as classroom teachers. Those staff changes followed a move two years ago away from outsourced on-site technicians to an in-house model to address turnover and improve consistency.

"Two years ago, we started the process to bring our techs in house," Ressler said. "It's been a positive move. I'm glad we went that direction." He told the board the district still contracts with 5 Star Technology Solutions for unlimited engineering support on servers, networking, backups and higher-level issues.

Nut graf: The presentation detailed district changes intended to reduce long-term costs and to strengthen student safety and cybersecurity. Ressler emphasized that a combination of on‑site personnel, a managed service provider and new security tools aims to protect sensitive student and business systems.

Ressler described recent infrastructure work in the district data center, including a migration last spring from VMware to Scale Computing, which he said reduced licensing and hardware costs and carries a five‑year warranty on new hardware. He said endpoint hardware updates include a full Windows 11 rollout for staff by the start of the school year and a spring 2024 refresh of student iPads. The district uses Chromebooks for grades 2–12 and has moved device lifecycles from a three‑year to a five‑plus‑year target to improve sustainability. As part of that shift, Ressler said the district has discontinued routine take‑home devices for most grades and is keeping student devices on campus to reduce loss and distractions.

On software and classroom systems, Ressler said the district uses Skyward for student information and business functions and maintains Google Workspace for Education with a paid Workspace Plus license. The district will retain Canvas for secondary exposure but will introduce Google Classroom for K–6 this year.

Ressler also reviewed student safety and cybersecurity tools and processes. He listed federal requirements — FERPA (student records), CIPA (online content) and COPPA (children's online privacy) — as the framework for district protections and described tools in use, including a content filter for on‑ and off‑campus devices and Google admin investigation features available through the Workspace Plus license. He said the district has purchased a next‑generation firewall, deployed next‑generation endpoint antivirus with 24/7 security‑operations monitoring, and implemented mandatory multi‑factor authentication for all staff and elevated business and administrative accounts.

"With 5 Star, we are able to have multiple engineer level technicians at, basically, at the cost of one sysadmin," Ressler said, explaining why the district continues that partnership.

Ressler said the district has begun monthly vulnerability scans and annual penetration testing, and that it is adopting a cyber incident response plan and disaster‑recovery steps as part of its cybersecurity consulting engagement. He noted the district also put in redundant Internet providers to reduce single‑point failures.

Ending: Board members thanked Ressler for the update and for the security work. The district did not take any formal action on the presentation itself; the discussion provided an overview of implemented changes and planned next steps for monitoring and improving cybersecurity.