Warsaw Schools In Midst Of Fiber Optic Project
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
A fiber optic project for Warsaw Community Schools is under way, with plans to complete the project in three phases.
The project, installing fiber optic lines to ultimately connect all Warsaw schools, is expected to cost approximately $400,000 once all phases are completed, said Dennis VanDuyne, WCS technology director.
The installation is being done by Derry Electric Inc., of Warsaw.
VanDuyne, in the June 17 school board meeting, first publicly recommended that the board consider fiber optic lines, which he wanted to do last summer. However, he said at the June meeting because of the cost of the project and because of "fiscal considerations," only the preliminary work, such as obtaining permits, would be done.
No public mention of the project was made again until the Dec. 18 Warsaw Board of Works meeting, in which city planner Jeff Noffsinger said installation already had begun along Main Street, and the formal approval by the Board of Works had not been sought.
During the Dec. 18 meeting, the BOW approved the project and waived a $500 permit application fee.
Washington Elementary, Warsaw Community High School, Edgewood Middle School and the administration building already are connected, VanDuyne said, thanks to a grant the technology department received approximately four years ago.
The next phase is to add Lincoln and Madison elementaries and Lakeview Middle School to the network during this school year; to add Harrison, Jefferson and Eisenhower elementaries later this year; and to add Leesburg, Claypool and Silver Lake elementaries later.
"Atwood is in limbo until we know what will happen," VanDuyne said, referring to the board's proposal last year to build a new elementary school to replace Atwood.
The school corporation has outgrown its current wireless system, VanDuyne said, with the advances in technology.
"The long-range plan would be to connect every building with fiber to move data, and eventually connect the phones, too," he said.
Using fiber optics will increase the bandwidth, he said, about 1,000 times what it is now.
"It's the next logical step in what we're doing with technology," said Dr. David McGuire, WCS superintendent.
"It will allow videoconferencing and collaborative projects," VanDuyne said. "Kids can go on field trips without leaving classes."
Though VanDuyne expects the entire installation to cost approximately $400,000 the project was not put out for bids because the cost per year is less than $75,000, he said. By state law, $75,000 is the maximum a public entity can spend without using competitive bidding.
Still, he said, he did talk to two other companies and asked them to quote him a per-foot price, and Derry Electric was the lowest estimator at around $6 per foot inside Warsaw city limits and about $2 per foot out of town.
Much of the expense, he added, includes horizontal drilling under streets and railroads to lay the cable and then run the fiber optic lines through it.
The fiber optics will "give us a lot of possibilities that we just don't have," VanDuyne said.
Some of the expense will be recouped by cutting out phone lines, he said. Each elementary school uses five to six phone lines, and at $50 per month per line, the savings will be substantial, he said. [[In-content Ad]]
A fiber optic project for Warsaw Community Schools is under way, with plans to complete the project in three phases.
The project, installing fiber optic lines to ultimately connect all Warsaw schools, is expected to cost approximately $400,000 once all phases are completed, said Dennis VanDuyne, WCS technology director.
The installation is being done by Derry Electric Inc., of Warsaw.
VanDuyne, in the June 17 school board meeting, first publicly recommended that the board consider fiber optic lines, which he wanted to do last summer. However, he said at the June meeting because of the cost of the project and because of "fiscal considerations," only the preliminary work, such as obtaining permits, would be done.
No public mention of the project was made again until the Dec. 18 Warsaw Board of Works meeting, in which city planner Jeff Noffsinger said installation already had begun along Main Street, and the formal approval by the Board of Works had not been sought.
During the Dec. 18 meeting, the BOW approved the project and waived a $500 permit application fee.
Washington Elementary, Warsaw Community High School, Edgewood Middle School and the administration building already are connected, VanDuyne said, thanks to a grant the technology department received approximately four years ago.
The next phase is to add Lincoln and Madison elementaries and Lakeview Middle School to the network during this school year; to add Harrison, Jefferson and Eisenhower elementaries later this year; and to add Leesburg, Claypool and Silver Lake elementaries later.
"Atwood is in limbo until we know what will happen," VanDuyne said, referring to the board's proposal last year to build a new elementary school to replace Atwood.
The school corporation has outgrown its current wireless system, VanDuyne said, with the advances in technology.
"The long-range plan would be to connect every building with fiber to move data, and eventually connect the phones, too," he said.
Using fiber optics will increase the bandwidth, he said, about 1,000 times what it is now.
"It's the next logical step in what we're doing with technology," said Dr. David McGuire, WCS superintendent.
"It will allow videoconferencing and collaborative projects," VanDuyne said. "Kids can go on field trips without leaving classes."
Though VanDuyne expects the entire installation to cost approximately $400,000 the project was not put out for bids because the cost per year is less than $75,000, he said. By state law, $75,000 is the maximum a public entity can spend without using competitive bidding.
Still, he said, he did talk to two other companies and asked them to quote him a per-foot price, and Derry Electric was the lowest estimator at around $6 per foot inside Warsaw city limits and about $2 per foot out of town.
Much of the expense, he added, includes horizontal drilling under streets and railroads to lay the cable and then run the fiber optic lines through it.
The fiber optics will "give us a lot of possibilities that we just don't have," VanDuyne said.
Some of the expense will be recouped by cutting out phone lines, he said. Each elementary school uses five to six phone lines, and at $50 per month per line, the savings will be substantial, he said. [[In-content Ad]]