In a bid to support the growing technological infrastructure at Lehighton Area School District, the school board approved an increase in district bandwidth to 10 gigabytes during its meeting Monday night.

The decision comes as the district grapples with heightened demand from cloud-based services and an expanding digital curriculum.

Gretchen Laviolette, director of technology in the district, presented the bandwidth proposal from PenTeleData, emphasizing the urgent need for the upgrade.

“Over the last several months, (the school board) has been gracious enough to allow us to expand many different services throughout the district,” she said, referencing improvements such as updated security cameras, a cloud-based phone system and curricular software. “Unfortunately, we kind of learned the hard way, as 2,000 students returned to our campus … we need to expand.”

The current 1-gigabyte bandwidth, which Laviolette said hasn’t been increased in at least a decade, is no longer sufficient to meet the district’s needs.

The cost of the increased bandwidth is expected to be approximately $1,873 per month, plus taxes and fees. However, due to E-Rate funding, a federal program that helps schools and libraries afford telecommunications services, the district will only pay a portion of that amount. Currently, E-Rate covers 90% of the district’s internet costs.

“We will continue to receive that subsidization,” Laviolette said, “but for this year it’s only going to be on that original $900 … so right now, our total bandwidth is going to cost us about $1,000 a month.”

The district expects that cost to drop in future fiscal years.

Laviolette said after applying for E-Rate funding next year, the district hopes to receive the same 90% coverage for the new monthly cost of $1,873.

Board members were unanimously supportive of the proposal.

“I think this is needed,” Board President Jeremy Glaush said. “I work in the technology business, and I understand that if you have slow moving anything, it is incredibly frustrating.”