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Board approves $138,000 firewall purchase, with $71,000 in E-rate support, to reduce internet outages
Summary
Board approved purchasing two replacement firewalls and related equipment at a total cost of $138,000; federal E-rate Group 2 funding is expected to cover $71,000 with a district share of roughly $67,000 to improve redundancy and reduce future downtime.
The board approved a Group 2 E-rate purchase to replace the district's aging firewall hardware and UPS equipment. Treasurer Joe explained the district's current firewall is at capacity and that two new firewalls would provide redundancy so maintenance on one unit would not cause district-wide outages.
Joe said "this project itself would be a total cost of a $138,000," with federal Group 2 E-rate funding covering approximately $71,000 and the district responsible for about $67,000. He added that purchasing two firewalls is preferred to allow one unit to remain operational while work is performed on the other and to better balance loads if one provider experiences an outage.
Board members asked whether bandwidth or firewall issues could affect upcoming standardized testing windows; staff said they have been working quickly to avoid test disruptions. Contracts and technical specifications are not posted publicly because they include product specs that could expose system details. The board voted in favor of the purchase following business services' recommendation.
