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District IT director outlines firewall repairs, network upgrades and E‑rate funding plan
Summary
Antonio D., Somerton’s IT director, reported a recent firewall failure and a temporary fallback to older equipment, plans to upgrade network gear during winter break, an intent to double district bandwidth next year, and an E‑rate funding estimate of about $167 per pupil (~$500,000 over five years) for Category 2 hardware.
Somerton’s IT director, Antonio D., briefed the board on recent technology challenges and planned upgrades, including a firewall failure that forced a temporary rollback to older equipment and a purchase order to replace the device during winter break.
Antonio D. said the district currently operates on a 5‑gigabit aggregate connection for all sites and is pursuing doubled bandwidth next school year through negotiations with the internet service provider. He described E‑rate (federal support) as a major funding avenue for network hardware and said the district expects roughly $167 per pupil for Category 2 equipment, which he estimated would amount to about $500,000 over a five‑year period to cover routers, access points and other hardware.
The IT director also outlined completed and planned projects: refurbishing older laptops and installing charging stations at sites, automating attendance reporting in PowerSchool, preparing for CRDC and state reporting windows, and staging Wi‑Fi access‑point upgrades once E‑rate and budget approvals are finalized. He said an internal audit identified findings in enrollment forms and that state reporting compliance work was ongoing.
Next steps: IT will pursue the approved PO for firewall replacement during winter break, continue E‑rate planning with district administration to determine Category‑2 investments (batteries, radios, access points), and report back to the board on procurement and implementation timing.
