Committee recommends professional services agreement with Flying 1st for IT strategic and cybersecurity plan

The committee recommended approval of a professional services agreement with Flying 1st Technology Consulting to develop an IT strategic plan and a cybersecurity disaster response plan.

"The item before you is a request to execute a professional service agreement with Flying 1st Technology Consulting for the development of an IT strategic plan, and it's a cybersecurity disaster response plan or a CDRP," the presenter said, explaining that five firms were solicited and two firms responded.

Staff said the project was identified as a 2025 operational priority and included in the district's 2025 operating budget but that available budget did not cover the full not-to-exceed contract amount discussed in the meeting; staff added that an additional $20,000 has been secured through a Cal OES cybersecurity grant and other district funds could be redirected to cover the remainder. The presenter recommended placing the project in the 2025 special studies bucket and brought the item forward for consent consideration.

Board members asked about consultant qualifications and whether the scope would include evaluation of artificial-intelligence risks. A board member asked, "are they gonna help evaluate the AI and address that issue, which they are?" Staff replied that AI considerations were part of the consulting scope and that the consultant will meet with departments to exercise incident-recovery procedures, including tabletop exercises intended to improve departmental preparedness.

Directors and staff emphasized training and phishing awareness as key parts of the work plan. One committee member urged simple precautions for staff, saying: "If it looks suspicious, don't open it."

Next steps: staff said they would provide a short primer for directors on common phishing vectors and other basic cyber-hygiene practices and that the agreement would be scheduled as a consent item for the full board.