There is a widespread concern for network, infrastructure and non-functional devices in the Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District, a finding that was uncovered in a technology presentation by technology director Jana Ostroff at last Tuesday’s board of education meeting.
Some of the needs that were uncovered in the infrastructure audit findings in the spring of 2014 include network inefficiencies and bottlenecking, insufficient processing and storage capacity, limited Wi-Fi coverage and a need for a disaster recovery plan.
An equipment assessment in the fall found low processing speed and power issues among a few laptops and an increasing frequency of desktops failing. SMART Boards were found to have a decreased responsiveness and projectors varied in performance beyond their warranty.
There were a few things done in the district in the summer and fall of last year to help rectify the situation.
New switches were installed as well as a streamline of security software. A donation of discarded desktops and laptops were given for temporary use as well as an assessment and proposal on the Wi-Fi Cat 6 cabling.
Ostroff said that a five-year plan has been laid out and it calls for updates and upgrades to many of the technological devices.
Interactive board replacements and back-up and disaster recovery is the goal for 2015-’16. Administrative workstation upgrade and migration of storage is in the works for 2016-’17 and an upgrade of hardwire cabling from Cat 5 to Cat 6 is planned for 2017-’18, as well as the first phase of a computer lab update. The second phase of the computer lab update is set for 2019-’20.
For 2020 and beyond, the district’s plan is to maintain and expand student access and use of technology.
The cost estimate for all the projects in the five-year plan is approximately $2,300,000.
