The Oxford Board of Education unanimously approved a project which would expand and update the wireless network throughout the district.

The district will spend $613,359 on the project, but has been approved to receive a refund of around $58,000 from a federal government grant, called E-rate.

While the district was originally expected to receive approximately $232,000 in total reimbursement through the E-rate program, the district was only approved to receive matching funds of around $58,000 due to an “error” on the part of the federal reviewer, according to the district’s E-Rate consultant, Hattie Plath of Convergent Technology Partners.

The district is currently filing an appeal through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to correct that error and officials are hoping to receive the remainder of nearly $175,000 as a future reimbursement.

Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Sam Barna said that the district will be able to comfortably afford the purchase of the proposed network updates whether or not the FCC ultimately approves the district’s appeal, due to an increase in the district’s Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) student numbers.

“(This purchase is) going to be (made) through our general fund… and due to our enrollment numbers, we’re able to make this transaction happen this year,” said Barna at a Nov. 21 meeting.

Based on preliminary numbers, the district is up 262.04 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) students from last fall, bringing its total count up to 6,171.35

If the full grant is approved, the project will cost the district a little more than $380,000 in total.

In order to conform to E-rate rules, the district had to go out to bid for a specified amount of time and accept and acknowledge the winner within a specified time window dictated by the federal rules.

The final bid was awarded in April 2017 to InaComp TSG, which will install a Firewall security device and replace the district’s two main core switches, which were last updated in 2003.

These would be replaced to provide faster service to the district students, staff and administrators.

Most of the project will likely be completed during winter break, according to Superintendent Tim Throne.

These updates will work in conjunction with other improvements to the district’s “behind-the-scenes” technology infrastructure– including the update of edge switches which will be funded by an approximate $100,000 in proceeds set to be garnered from the district’s recently approved bond starting in 2018.