Superintendent says E‑Rate funds will bring fiber to new DeSoto High; board adds school‑safety item to agenda

The DeSoto County School District board on Jan. 27 approved the superintendent’s agenda after the chair added an urgent item related to school safety and an accompanying legislative‑priorities attachment.

The chair said of the late addition, “I find that it has just cause. It is pertaining to school safety and it needs to be added, as soon as possible.” The motion to adopt the superintendent’s agenda, moved by Mrs. Mercer and seconded by Mrs. Chancey, passed by voice vote.

Superintendent Dr. Bennett described several technical and resilience items on the agenda. “13‑06 is referring to E‑Rate dollars that'll be used to run fiber to the new DeSoto High School,” he said, identifying federal E‑Rate funding as the payor for new fiber infrastructure. He also said item 13‑12 addresses measures to keep district technology functioning after a natural disaster and noted that the 13‑12 piece was handled in executive session.

Dr. Bennett also gave a progress report on the new high school’s construction, saying, “The high school progress has been outstanding. If you ride by, you'll see that the gymnasium piece is really starting to come together ... In the next 2 weeks, I expect the envelope to go up on the auditorium.”

The board was also reminded that a finalized legislative priorities packet would be presented the next morning in Tallahassee.

No public speakers addressed the agenda during the public‑presentation period before these votes.

What happens next: The board adopted the superintendent’s agenda, which incorporated the school‑safety item and the listed technology and capital items. The E‑Rate item referenced is intended to fund fiber for the new high school; any contracting, timelines or further technical details were not specified during the meeting.