The District and the City will work together to provide faster, more reliable internet connectivity to HSD schools
August 27, 2018, Hillsboro, OR - Hillsboro-area students and teachers can look forward to faster, more reliable internet connectivity in schools and classrooms by the end of 2019. The reason: Hillsboro School District (HSD) and the City of Hillsboro have agreed to team up to connect every HSD school by next year.
Through the partnership, funding from HSD’s 2017 capital construction bond will build the infrastructure to connect all HSD schools to the City’s existing fiber network.
As a result, students, teachers, and staff in the Hillsboro School District will enjoy greater data transmission capacity and built-in redundancies that will reduce the potential for internet service downtime. In addition, HSD will save as much as $200,000 each school year as City employees manage, monitor, and maintain the network and its connections — with no annual operating costs for the District.
The City will also realize savings by engaging in the joint design and installation effort and avoiding the need to duplicate fiber network construction in and around schools.
“The partnership between the City and HSD is all about what’s best for our community,” said Superintendent Mike Scott. “We have a long history of working together to best serve our students and families, and this is another opportunity for us to do the right thing and make our schools and our community stronger.”
“It’s the ultimate community partnership,” said Mayor Steve Callaway. “Our local school district and our local government understand the needs of our students and our neighbors, and this will help us move forward with the long-term buildout of the City’s fiber network to serve families throughout the community.”
Earlier this year, the City made a long-term commitment to connect everyone in Hillsboro by providing affordable high-speed internet access. City-provided internet service will launch in 2019 in the South Hillsboro and Shute Park/Southwest Hillsboro neighborhoods.
Thanks to the pending intergovernmental agreement, which will need formal approval from the Hillsboro School District Board and the Hillsboro City Council, the partner agencies will be able to leverage one another’s strengths and economies of scale, and save millions of taxpayer dollars.
The project to connect HSD schools will begin in earnest in October and November of 2018, with project completion expected by December 2019.
###
