Jackson County recommends redundant fiber and Meraki refresh under E‑Rate; estimated $43,636/year and $196,794 district share

District technology staff told the board on March 5 that from August 2025 through February 2026 the district experienced 37 fiber outages, including two outages longer than 12 hours and one exceeding 24 hours, disrupting testing and building operations. "From August '25 to February '26, we've had 37 outages," the presenter told the board.

To reduce future service interruptions staff recommended adding a physically diverse fiber path to district schools — a second route running in the opposite physical direction from the existing fiber — and recommended Comcast as the service provider. "The monthly cost to add these connections to our schools and our board office would be $3,637.20 per month, or an annual cost of $43,636.40," the presenter said. The proposal was described as a one‑year agreement with four voluntary extensions and no build‑out or construction costs. The presenter estimated the change would mitigate roughly 90% of the cuts seen in recent years.

Staff also proposed a network equipment refresh under the district's E‑Rate cycle to replace switches and access points at multiple sites, and said several bidders responded to the RFP. After the district's 80% E‑Rate discount, the presenter listed the district cost as $196,794.33 and recommended Meraki hardware managed by a vendor identified in the packet. "The solution I'm recommending tonight is for Meraki equipment," the presenter said, noting the district has used the same brand previously.

The presenter described alternatives examined (cellular backup, Starlink) but said the dual‑path fiber was the preferred solution to maintain continuity for phones, student Chromebooks, cameras and other network‑dependent systems. Board members asked clarifying questions about whether the redundant path would serve specific locations and about remote camera access when a site is offline; staff confirmed the solution would restore remote monitoring when connections remained intact.

No formal vote on the broadband or equipment purchases was recorded in the work session transcript; staff framed both as recommendations to bring forward for procurement and budgeting as part of the E‑Rate-funded projects.