Sheridan School District recently announced it received $136,284 in federal funding through the E-Rate Schools and Libraries Program to upgrade broadband infrastructure.
“We are very grateful to have been awarded this E-Rate funding, and I am extremely proud of our technology team,” Sheridan Superintendent Jerrod Williams, said in a news release. “Our technology department invested a lot of time and effort into the application process and continues to work diligently to ensure our students and staff have the technology resources they need.”
Over the summer, the district used the E-Rate funding to raise its broadband to 500 megabytes. During the 2016-17 school year, the district will use the funding for additional broadband infrastructure upgrades.
Upgrades include an additional 100 megabytes to Internet speeds; replacing the cables at Sheridan Intermediate School with Cat6 cabling; installing several new switches throughout the district; and adding new uninterruptible power supplies to protect these investments from electrical damage.
“We also plan to install a direct fiber link between Sheridan and East End schools, further unifying our district and lowering broadband costs,” Technology Coordinator Calvin Hudson said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Sheridan and East End are approximately 20 miles apart. According to Hudson, the new fiber link between the Sheridan and East End schools will reduce broadband costs, because it will allow the district to share and push out its own bandwidth between the campuses rather than paying different providers to support both areas.
The E-Rate Schools and Libraries Program is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Co. The program provides discounts to assist schools and libraries in the United States to obtain affordable telecommunications and Internet access. Discounts for support range from 20 to 90 percent of the costs of eligible services.
The Sheridan School District received an 80 percent discount through the program on its category two projects approved for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years.