With $111M, schools will speed up internet
Arizona one of 18 states to qualify for funding
Students in Arizona’s poorest and most rural schools could soon get a huge boost in internet speeds, all on the government’s dime.
Arizona is one of 18 states to qualify for government funding for schools to improve internet infrastructure. The federal government will contribute about $100 million to the program, and Gov. Doug Ducey and the Legislature last session agreed to invest $11 million.
“Too many students, specifically in our rural areas, and in our tribal nations are missing out. It’s 2017, but outside of our urban areas, broadband is still spotty,” Ducey said in his 2017 State of the State address when he proposed the funding. “Let’s fix this by connecting these rural schools to highspeed internet. This session, let’s break the firewall and get these kids connected.”
Since July, more than 100 schools have signed up with the Arizona Department of Education to participate. Department of Education spokesman Stefan Swiat estimated another 137 district schools and 200 charter schools likely qualify.
“That’s a super conservative estimate,” he added.
Many schools today use technology and internet to great effect for daily classroom activities, tests and communication. Those slow, outdated capabilities struggle to offer that experience to their students.
The program ends sometime this
spring.
If there is federal money left over after allocating it for registered Arizona schools, the federal funds could be repurposed for other states or programs, Swiat said.
How it works
The initiative is focused primarily on rural schools where broadband infrastructure is often lacking, not only at the schools, but within their largercommunities, Swiat said.
“We’ve given schools the opportunity to be the center of their community,” he said.
Schools qualify for funding based on their percentage of students from lowincome families that qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program, Swiat said.
If at least 80 percent of a school’s student population receives free or reduced-price lunch, the infrastructure costs are fullycovered. Schools with 70 percent qualifying students pay 10 percent of the cost, and it goes down from there.
Schools such as the Bicentennial Elementary School in Glendale, Apache County Consortium, Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District and the Agua Fria Union High School District in Avondale are among those in the process of receiving funding.
Mike Shepard, technology director at the Agua Fria Union High School District, coordinated his district’s registration efforts and secured about $750,000 in funding from the initiative.
“At this point, that funding is still in review for us,” he said.
As pieces of funding are approved, through a progressive process rather than a lump sum distribution, the district will move forward with various phases of work.
Shepard said he hopes to see the 18 miles of underground and aerial fiber construction completed before the start of the next school year.
He estimates the fiber upgrades the district will receive, connecting its five high school campuses and district office, will make its internet capabilities at least “10 times better than we’ve got now.”
Shepard said with fiber, the district would be able to improve internet speed at its discretion.
“You pay for how much speed you want,” he said, and having the fiber connections will allow the district to scale up to 40 times past its current bandwidth capabilities.
For the district to fund that on its own, he said, it would have been immensely expensive.
“To scale it (internet speed) to where it needed to be ... the cost of scaling it was crazy,” Shepard said.
Once they have the bandwidth, Agua Fria and other schools with higher lowincome populations can also qualify for ongoing broadband funding through a separate federal E-rate program.
“The governor’s initiative is opening the door for other alternatives,” Shepard said. “Exponentially, the need has grown over the years.”
Agua Fria got 60 percent of its ongoing broadband costs covered this past year through E-Rate.
Next goals
Schools from all 15 Arizona counties have already applied for the federal funding, Swiat said.
But many more could benefit, Swiat said.
According to a September report,about 9 percent of Arizona schools still need to meet the minimum connectivity measurements of 100 kbps per student, as defined by EducationSuperHighway.
EducationSuperHighway is a nonprofit that works with states and other organizations, and monitors internet needs of schools across the country.
The organization reports that nine states have 100 percent minimum connectivity across their schools. At 91 percent, Arizona is ranked 39th nationwide on the list.
Once schools have the infrastructure in place, there will still be funding needs to cover ongoing internet service and equipment maintenance.
Swiat said there are a number of options for schools and districts at that point.
He cited successful voter-approvedschool bond projects, like Yuma Elementary School District One’s, as district initiatives that can cover technology costs for the future.
Swiat also said E-Rate is a viable next stepfor qualifying schools.
Rep. Paul Boyer, R-Phoenix, has introduced legislation in hopes of expanding access to E-Rate. His House Bill 2026 would also allow county superintendents to file E-Rate applications on behalf of schools and local libraries with limited resources.
Phoenix Union High School District hasn’t taken part in the large broadband initiative, but it does enroll annually in E-Rate.
“We’ve had fiber and connectivity for some time now,” the district’s Technology Director Amy Remfrey said.
Due to its current free and reducedprice lunch student population, 85 percent of the district’s ongoing technology costs are covered this year through ERate.
“We’ve been able to up our internet connection,” Remfrey said.
The district meets the minimum connectivity goals, but it’s been able to bring its bandwidth to five times its previous capabilities.
“If we didn’t have the E-Rate numbers, I don’t know if we could do it,” Remfrey said.