West Valley board hears recommendation to replace Wi‑Fi equipment and add classroom speaker system

Marcus, the district technology lead, recommended the board accept the low category‑2 equipment bid from 801 Technology to replace the school’s remaining Wi‑Fi devices and extend coverage in the rear of the building to support emergency communications.

The recommendation emphasized that the bidder did not mark up equipment and had performed well in prior work. Marcus said the equipment upgrade would improve in‑building service and allow Wi‑Fi calling during large events when cellular towers become overloaded.

Board members and staff also discussed plans to install 70‑volt classroom speaker systems to improve audibility for announcements and emergency paging, which would reduce reliance on the phone system and could be run with district labor to save costs. The superintendent confirmed exterior lighting orders are in and that staff are planning phased security upgrades such as key‑fob entry at building entrances.

District technology and board members noted the district’s internet service provider changed after Montana Digital was acquired; for the next cycle the district plans to use Interale Communications (fiber service to Eureka), which was described as increasing bandwidth roughly four‑ to fivefold. Marcus said four responses were received for the equipment bid and recommended 801 Technology based on price and prior experience.

The presentation was informational in the meeting record; the transcript includes the recommendation but does not record an award vote in the posted segments. Next steps noted by staff were to finalize bids and bring formal contract or action items back to the board for approval.