Board authorizes fiber upgrade and approves Arrowhead transportation addendum; buses to pick up five minutes later

The Merton Community School District board on March 23 authorized a fiber-optic upgrade and approved an addendum to the Arrowhead feeder-school transportation agreement.

Administration recommended adding additional fiber (moving from a single usable strand to a 12-strand infrastructure) to increase capacity and future-proof bandwidth for classroom technologies and security systems. The board approved authorization for the work not to exceed $39,000; administration said acting now would allow the district to pursue E‑rate funding timing and that the physical infrastructure is already roughed in from prior work.

A board member highlighted classroom and security benefits and noted fiber will reduce internal latency even though internet service speed might remain the same: "The Internet speed is gonna be the same, but getting there is gonna be a lot faster," one principal explained.

In transportation business, the board approved an addendum to the Arrowhead agreement that shortens the existing consortium contract end date from June 30, 2030, to June 30, 2028, giving member districts two additional years to reassess arrangements. Administrators said 8 of Arrowhead's 10 routes will be part of the district's tier and that the district will need to prepare for an RFP in fall 2027 to select or renew services for future years.

Administrators also told the board bus pickup times will move about five minutes later in the morning (for example, Merton Primary will move from an 08:30 to an 08:35 soft start). The administration said the same number of buses will be used and that the finance committee will continue to review transportation fees.

Both the fiber authorization and the Arrowhead addendum were moved, seconded and approved by the board during new business.