Committee approves $25,536 for high school Wi-Fi fix

School Committee · Meeting of September 22, 2026

Easthampton School Committee funds a $127,683 high school Wi-Fi overhaul and greenlights a policy manual rewrite. The panel voted 6-0 to ask the City Council for $25,536.68 from capital stabilization funds to cover the district's share of replacing 110 wireless access points and 72 switches at Easthampton High School, with the Federal Communications Commission's E-Rate program covering the remaining $102,146.72. Members also voted 6-0 to begin a Massachusetts Association of School Committees project to modernize the district's policy manual, approving a first $3,500 payment toward a contract Chair Laura Scott said could reach $10,500 over five years, calling herself "penny wise, pound foolish" for hesitating.

Assistant Superintendent Julianne Levin was credited with securing more than $2 million in grants this year. A resident identified only as Andrea used public comment to challenge the design of a new EHS cell phone-use survey, saying "a student's personal cell phone is not the school's emergency communication plan."

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,849 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of September 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.