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District technology director previews Wi‑Fi 7 access point rollout, cloud filtering and device plans
Summary
Steve Mlin, the district's director of technology, told the board the district will replace about 180 wireless access points, migrate filters to a cloud system that can support parental controls for devices at home, and evaluate camera and server moves to hybrid/cloud models.
Steve Mlin, the district technology director, told the North Adams school board the technology department has completed core network upgrades and is preparing several major projects to modernize infrastructure and reduce operating costs.
Mlin said the district has doubled pathways to key network closets, upgraded switches and is moving many services to cloud‑based solutions to reduce on‑site hardware and licensing costs. He described a planned replacement of roughly 180 wireless access points across the district to adopt newer Wi‑Fi standards and allow future features. "We'll be replacing all of the access points the wireless access points in the district. It's about 180 of them," he said.
Mlin also discussed the district’s cloud‑based content filtering migration. The system now supports routing and filtering for district devices and can, when parents require it, apply filtering for devices taken home if users log in with district credentials. On home‑use filtering he said, "The main thing is they're going to have to be able to log in with their own credentials." He also warned about supply‑chain pressures for components such as chips and RAM, which affect device procurement.
Security and cameras: Mlin reported about 215 campus cameras and said the district is evaluating a couple dozen for replacement; he noted camera systems are moving toward hybrid/cloud architectures and that server planning will be required to manage video storage and access.
Budget and operations: The technology office has realized some savings by consolidating servers and moving backups off‑site; Mlin said updated licensing and cloud backups should lower capital and operating expense over time.
Next steps: The district expects to image hundreds of laptops and update Windows server versions over the coming months, run on‑site 911 test calls on a staff day to maintain compliance, and finalize access‑point replacement plans after procurement and installation scheduling.
