Network Upgrade for Lawrence Public Schools Enhances Learning, Ensures Equity, Saves Millions
Located in northeast Kansas, about 30 miles east of the state capital of Topeka, the city of Lawrence is home to the state’s flagship university as well as the Lawrence Public Schools (LPS) USD 497. In this city of 100,000 people, the LPS district serves about 11,000 students across 18 different elementary, middle, and high school sites. LPS employs more than 1500 staff.
Future-Proof Network to Revolutionize Learning Experience
The summer of 2023 marked a significant milestone for Lawrence Public Schools. As part of its mission to offer cutting-edge educational opportunities in the best possible learning environment, the district went live with a new high-bandwidth, fiber-based Wide Area Network (WAN). The modern, future-proof solution revolutionizes the way students access information and learn.
The new district-wide private WAN provides vastly improved bandwidth and throughput across the entire district, with greatly enhanced reliability and security. Amplifying the rewards of this project, the new network implementation comes at reduced cost. The district halved its monthly network payments, and the contract’s guaranteed fixed pricing ensures those payments will not change, even when bandwidth must be increased to meet higher need in the future. The fiscal and technological advantages of this new implementation extend to the entire Lawrence community.
"This exciting federal, state, public school, and private partnership will meet our future bandwidth needs and expand student learning opportunities by connecting staff and school families. Thanks to federal E-Rate and state matching dollars, we were able to reduce our overall construction costs by 80%," said Lawrence USD 497 Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis.
Network Security and Bandwidth Concerns Addressed
Prior to undertaking this revolutionary network upgrade, LPS utilized a public fiber WAN that provided most sites across the district with maximum network speeds of 1 gigabit per second (1Gbps). As with all public networks, lag and bottlenecks were a common frustration. Actual throughput was often much less.
The district recognized the need to modernize its network infrastructure in order to provide all students and staff with the reliable communication and data exchange that a superior, 21st-century educational experience requires. “Security and bandwidth are the ‘Big Two’ for an IT person,” says David Vignery, LPS Director of Technology. “We wanted to make our network faster, more stable, and more secure.”
To that end, district officials initiated an RFP process in 2022 and ultimately awarded a contract to WANRack of nearby Overland Park, Kansas. WANRack provides high-bandwidth, fiber-based communications networks and related services to K-12 schools and other organizations throughout the United States.
Vast, District-Wide Increase in Network Speed
By the start of the 2023-24 school year, WANRack had completed construction of a private, fiber optic WAN for LPS that now delivers a whopping 10 Gbps to every building in the LPS district. With the capability to increase to 100 Gbps or more as demand increases over time, it is the last network LPS should ever need.
The LPS implementation spans 27 unique sites – 11 elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools, plus many auxiliary buildings including adult education and early childhood centers, district offices, a career academy, and several others.
Small Investment, Huge Payoff
The up-front cost of building the new network was primarily funded by the federal E-Rate program and a key state match, minimizing the investment required from the district itself. Furthermore, the district has slashed its monthly network costs by more than 50 percent – for a tenfold boost in speed with significantly better reliability and security – making the implementation of the WANRack network a very savvy financial decision.
“Our solution initially – and understandably – elicits a ‘too good to be true’ reaction from many school district superintendents and IT directors,” said RobOyler, WANRack CEO and Founder. “But they quickly become our biggest advocates once they meet with us and understand how the E-Rate benefits and our unique offering really do combine to surpass their wildest expectations.”
Fixed Cost Model Saves Millions, Streamlines Budgeting
WANRack offers a fixed-cost monthly pricing model that removes the guesswork in budgeting for and funding future network growth. “The way WANRack designed the network to be able to grow with us was really unique,” Vignery says. “We are able to upgrade bandwidth on the fly without any increase in cost. That’s a huge plus.”
The significant cost savings of a WANRack implementation appeals to all stakeholders. “This allows us to reduce spending out of our general fund by approximately three million dollars over the life of the initial contract,” says Shannon Kimball of the LPS Board of Education. “Being able to save that much money in an essential service, plus provide higher quality service, made being a supporter of this project a no-brainer.” Vignery agrees. “With 80 percent of the build cost taken care of through E-Rate & the state match, it was definitely a no-brainer,” he says. “And now we are just saving money every month.”
Educational Equity Ensured
In addition to the huge fiscal benefit, Superintendent Lewis emphasizes the equity gains of the project. The district hot spots available to families without reliable home Internet access now provide faster, more reliable connectivity, easily capable of supporting an entire household of learners.
“This solution allows us to address the digital divide within our school system, leveling the playing field for families in terms of access to Internet,” Dr. Lewis says. “Ensuring educational equity allows us to continue our mission and achieve the ultimate goal of producing high outcomes.”
Funding Mechanisms Minimize District Construction Costs
LPS leveraged available federal and state funding mechanisms to cover the majority of the up-front costs for the network build. The district qualified for an initial 60% discount through the federal E-Rate program. A Kansas state program contributed an additional 10% of the funding, and an advantageous state match component of E-Rate increased the total subsidy to a full 80%. Where applicable, the state match component can be a game-changer for many districts.
Wide-Ranging Benefits for All Populations
LPS students and staff – from custodians to teachers to administrators – began realizing benefits of the new network from day one. Teachers are able to cover more content, transition time between tasks is reduced, new classroom options such as virtual field trips are possible, and everyday aggravations caused by network slowdowns are removed. “It’s benefiting everybody,” says Dr. Lewis. BOE member Kimball also emphasizes the project’s positive effects on employee satisfaction and retention. “Those factors really affect the quality of education,” she says. “They have a bigger impact than people expect.”
Prior IT Challenges Fade from View
IT Directors everywhere face ongoing issues regarding increased network demands, bottlenecks, and security. “There are everyday challenges at a lot of districts, but we're not seeing those anymore,” says Vignery, explaining why the district favors the WANRack approach. “We can increase bandwidth without cost increase, and we can isolate and protect our environment.” Vignery thinks that the process of teaming with WANRack on this project is instructive for all school districts. “We should never not do something that’s good for kids because we think we can’t afford it,” he says. “We saw the $2.5 million price tag, but at the end of the day, the district was committing to less than $500,000. As we worked through the plan with WANRack, we kept seeing a decrease in what we had to come up with.”
About WANRack
WANRack provides high-bandwidth, fiber-based infrastructure and related services to schools, hospitals, libraries, enterprises, and carrier customers throughout the continental United States. Service offerings include E-Rate-compliant lit fiber, dark fiber, and special construction solutions. Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, the company provides bespoke fiber solutions, which eliminate countless points of failure found in typical legacy networks. To learn more about WANRack, visit www.wanrack.com.
