B-E School Board elects officers, hears presentation from internet co-op – Alexandria Echo Press

BRANDON-EVANSVILLE — The

Brandon-Evansville School Board

re-elected all of its current officers at its regular meeting on Monday, Jan. 8.

Jana Anderson was named chairperson, Rachel Wagner was named vice chair, Jaci Stepan was named treasurer and Stacy Beaumia was named clerk.

The board also heard a presentation from Marc Johnson, executive director of the East Central Minnesota Educational Cable Cooperative, which is a joint powers cooperative of 14 school districts.

The first part of Johnson’s presentation covered the projected per district cost of fully joining the Central Minnesota Wide Area Network for Internet Access.

“With the potential dissolution of CMETS (Central Minnesota Education Telecommunications System), there’s a couple of things. One, you need internet access … and two, there are some other services that CMETS did that you might want to continue,” Johnson said.

Projected costs were shared in a handout and break down as follows:

• Estimated annual circuit cost (1 Gbps): $11,000
• Router/Switch annual cost: $3,080
• Internet bandwidth cost: $10,000

This makes a subtotal of $24,080, with an additional $1,450 for administrative fees. However, there is an E-rate discount estimated at 70%, or approximately $16,856, and telecom equity aid estimated at 50%, or approximately $4,337.
This makes a total annual cost of $4,337, the handout read.

The final costs could be higher or lower depending on:

• The actual cost of the circuits, which are currently estimated to be $900 a month for a 1 Gbps circuit.
• The actual bandwidth usage, currently estimated at 250 Mbps with full bursting to 1 Gbps.
• The actual E-rate discount and Telecom Equity Aid reimbursement percentage.

The handout also showed that the telecommunications equity aid is only available to districts that are members of a Minnesota Department of Education-approved telecommunications cooperative, unless costs exceed $16 per pupil.
The second part of Johnson’s presentation centered on the services offered by ECMECC and the investment required by the school district to receive these services.

According to the handout provided to the council, ECMECC offers educational opportunities such as ITV (Interactive Television) classes and distance learning, professional development opportunities in education technology, video conferencing and virtual field trips, International Society for Technology in Education travel scholarships, shared firewall and firewall support and cybersecurity services, among others.

Full membership for Brandon-Evansville based on an enrollment of 535 students is estimated to be $11,522, the handout read.

The board has not yet taken action regarding the presentation.

Travis Gulbrandson covers several beats, including Osakis School Board and Osakis City Council, along with the Brandon-Evansville School Board. His focus will also be on crime and court news.