District technology director recommends $125,333.74 firewall upgrade, says Oakland Schools provides mitigation

The Farmington Public School District’s director of technology, West Prescott, briefed the board on a recommended replacement firewall the district plans to buy under its 2020 bond program.

Prescott told trustees the current firewall is five years old, undersized for current needs and that the recommended purchase from Delta Network Services includes five years of licensing at a total cost of $125,333.74, with approximately 25% of the cost eligible for E‑Rate support. He said the device is both an appliance and software subscription: the hardware is a smaller portion of the cost while licensing and services are the larger share.

Board members asked whether the firewall protects students when devices are used at home; Prescott said the firewall protects the district network but the district uses filtering software that follows student devices off‑site. He confirmed licensing on the current firewall expires July 1 and the district plans installation after July 1. Prescott said Oakland Schools provides DDoS mitigation and additional monitoring: "If we do get an attack, they mitigate it in 2 to 3 minutes and remediate in about 10," he said.

Trustees asked about lifecycle and review cadence; Prescott said the appliance and licensing are sized for a five‑year life with software updates included during that period. Trustees signaled interest in a deeper cybersecurity briefing and the district indicated it would schedule a future discussion with more technical details.

There was no formal vote on the firewall purchase at this meeting; the recommendation was presented for review and budgeting under bond and technology funds.