Gaining access to information through the Internet might get a whole lot faster for students at some schools in San Benito County.
More than a dozen sites—including two districts, the county office of education and at least 11 schools—qualified as eligible for the second round of state-funded Broadband Infrastructure and Improvement Grants, which will allow them to get faster Internet connections if they are selected.
“I’m excited,” said Ruben Zepeda, superintendent of the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District. “I’m excited for my colleagues. I’m excited for the kids in the county.”
In August, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson approved $50 million for a second round of Broadband Infrastructure and Improvement Grants.
“BIIG 2.0” builds on the first round of funding earlier this year that provided nearly $27 million in improvements to 227 school sites, according to the California Department of Education in a statement.
The push for higher connectivity is a response to the state’s new standardized testing, the first exam of its kind to have hefty online components. The changes will also improve access to other Internet-based learning resources such as streaming video and online web programs.
School districts throughout the state with Internet connectivity issues usually have problems with bandwidth, Zepeda explained. In remote locations, many schools have to use something other than fiber optic cables such as telephone lines or T1 lines but these options provide slower connections, the superintendent explained. These grants help schools get access to a better system such as fiber optic cables or some other connection, he said.
Zepeda praised the state for continuing to set aside money for this purpose. In the prior round of grants, the district’s Aromas School was the only one in the county to take home grant money.
This time around, the same district’s main office and two other schools are on the eligibility list, along with the county office of education, the Hollister School District, Bitterwater-Tully Union School, Cienega Union School, Jefferson School, Spring Grove School, Panoche School, San Benito High School, Southside School, Tres Pinos Union School and Willow Grove Union School.
Making the eligibility list doesn’t guarantee an award, according to an email from BIIG coordinators that an administrator forwarded to the Free Lance. Final awards will go out in February 2016.
For the newest round of grants, priority will go to schools administering the state’s new assessment in 2016 and sites with limited options to administer the test, according to the statement. The priority one projects in this county include the Hollister School District and the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District along with Jefferson School, Southside School and the Tres Pinos Union School.
Receiving a grant would mean greater access to online programs and videos and less time waiting for materials to load. That would mean “more time on learning,” Zepeda said.
Priority 1 sites eligible for grants:
Hollister School District
Jefferson Elementary
Southside Elementary
Tres Pinos Union Elementary
Aromas San Juan Unified School District
Priority 2 sites eligible for grants:
San Benito County Office of Education
Bitterwater-Tully Elementary
Cienega Elementary
Panoche Elementary
San Benito High School
Willow Grove
Anzar High School
San Juan School
Priority 3 sites eligible for grants:
San Benito County Office of Education
North County Joint Union Elementary
