Shenandoah Valley to upgrade wireless network due to pandemic

John E. Usalis, Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.
·2 min read

Feb. 26—SHENANDOAH — The Shenandoah Valley School District will upgrade its wireless network to meet needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school board met Wednesday and approved the low bid of $116,202.26 from IntergraONE, Allentown. The board included that the project will be submitted for special E-rate financing.

District Business Manager Anthony P. Demalis Jr. said with the increased need for an enhanced network connectivity, due to education adapting to the pandemic, the existing wireless infrastructure requires an upgrade.

"What this will mean is that there will be an additional 88 access points in classrooms and in 10 non-classrooms," Demalis said. "We're also going to add an external access point and a bridge to the bus barn, which will also allow us to have wireless access in the press box (in Veterans Memorial Stadium) if we want. That's a minor thing. The main thing is the access points for the classrooms."

Demalis said there will be additional network switches and uninterruptible power supplies installed.

"This is all about the infrastructure of the wireless network, which we have now," he said. "When it was installed, we did not anticipate at the time 800 to 900 wireless devices being used in the school. With all the Chromebooks we had to add, with teachers trying to teach virtually, we don't have enough of a network here to do it to the best of our ability."

According to the State Library of Pennsylvania website:

"As a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted an order on May 8, 1997, creating the E-rate program to ensure that schools and libraries have affordable access to advanced telecommunications services.

"Under the program, discounts ranging from 20% to 90% on telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections are provided to eligible schools and libraries."

Demalis said the cost of the bid is the price for everything if the district does not get the E-rate discount, which he said has been basically approved.

"We're applying for E-rate and we're almost 100% we're going to get it," he said. "It's a federal subsidy.

"We have some guidelines we have to follow. However, we're going to do this whether we get E-rate or not. We need this and we can't wait."

Demalis said if the E-rate is not approved, the funding will come from Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief money, which are funds received through the federal CARES Act.

"It will not be an expense to the (district) general fund or the taxpayers," Demalis said. "The cost will be reimbursed one way or another."

Contact the writer: jusalis@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023