LPEA helps schools go high-speed – Colorado co-op to offer high-speed network for Durango schools

La Plata Electric Association plans to connect all schools in the region to a fiber-optic network that will allow them to have high-speed communications with each other, including real-time video classes.

Schools and districts to be connected include: Durango School District 9-R, Fort Lewis College, Ignacio School District, Bayfield School District, Pagosa Springs School District, Pueblo Community College and San Juan College in Farmington.

By Shane Benjamin
Herald Staff Writer

http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/04/news040209_1.htm

(Many thanks to Greg Lakes at Headwaters http://www.headwatersnews.org for passing this along.- Russ)

Schools in Cortez and Silverton are not in LPEA’s service area, so they are not being included in the network plan, said Davin Montoya, LPEA board president. If those schools find a way to connect to the system, they would be welcome to join, he said.

The LPEA Board of Directors has not yet approved spending the money to connect the schools, but Montoya believes there is strong support for the network. "It seems to be pretty favorable," he said. "This project has the potential of helping every school, child and teacher in our service area."

The timeline for completing the connections will depend on the schools, but for the most part, all school districts should be connected within a couple of months, said David Waller, LPEA spokesman.

School leaders in the region said they are thrilled with LPEA’s offer.

"This is like an answer to a prayer," said Howie DiBlasi, information technology director for Durango schools. "The educational impact is just really huge."

In Southwest Colorado, where long miles and mountains separate schools, video conferencing could provide a link, DiBlasi said.

Video conferencing would allow schools to:

• Offer advanced-placement courses to all students in the region.

• Make staff-development classes available to all teachers in the region.

• Allow local schools to participate in classes offered on the Front Range.

• Save classes and lectures to the Internet so students could view them any time.

"We are just excited about the possibility of this," DiBlasi said. "The potential is just going to be huge. … We’re all dreaming of what we can do here."

It will cost LPEA an estimated $140,000 to install the necessary infrastructure, and $6,000 to $7,000 per month in service charges to have the schools connected to a high-speed line to Denver, where other schools are wired for video conferencing, said LPEA Chief Executive Officer Emery Maez.

The funds will come from the co-op’s Unclaimed Capital Credits Fund, which can only be used for educational purposes. The fund collects money from customers who do not claim refunds after several years. The balance of the account is expected to be $420,000 by the end of the month, Maez said.

"The money is there, we don’t have to take it out of operating or revenues," he said. "… I can’t put it into operations. I can’t reduce rates with that money. We can only use it for educational purposes."

LPEA has donated smaller sums from the account for scholarships and other educational projects since the early 1990s, Maez said, but the board has always been interested in spending the balance of the account in a way that benefits numerous people.

"It’s going to help thousands of students across our service area," Maez said, adding that the fiber infrastructure will be in place for years to come.

LPEA is able to provide fiber optics to the schools through Fast Track Communications, the co-op’s high-speed provider offering service in Farmington.

Durango schools and Ignacio schools are already wired for fiber optics. Fort Lewis College and San Juan College are also using fiber. It would be Fast Track’s job to connect the school districts and colleges to the Durango loop.

Bayfield and Pagosa schools still need to be wired for fiber optics. LPEA is considering helping those schools complete the wiring and then paying service charges to Qwest and CenturyTel to bring those schools into the network, Montoya said.

"We’re trying to do what it is the schools want," he said. "What they feel is best for them. … So if they have special needs they want us to look at, we’re going to look at it."

LPEA plans to pay service charges to Denver until June 2005, at which time the board will re-evaluate whether it is a good use of funds, Waller said.

Regional schools have been interested in sharing a high-speed communications network for several years, said Craig Young, director of computing and telecommunications at Fort Lewis College.

"We’re pretty enthusiastic about it at this point," Young said. "We think it can have a really positive impact on education in this region. … It’s been something on the drawing board for a long time."

Fort Lewis College and San Juan College expect the technology to increase class sizes and provide access to seminars by offering video conferencing.

"If you can do video conferencing, you have a two-way – as close to person-and-person as you can get," said Robert Tidwill, chief information-officer for San Juan College’s technology department.

San Juan College already shares a high-speed network with seven area high schools, he said. It is possible for high school students to take vocational classes at the college, and high school staff members can use it for administration meetings.

Delivering fiber to all the schools and colleges is only the first step in providing an interactive system, DiBlasi said. The schools will then be responsible for buying the technology to use the fiber and creating programs for classes.

LPEA plans to keep public libraries in mind while connecting schools to single networks, Waller said.

Reach Staff Writer Shane Benjamin here .