May 2008 — News
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Osage County: Security in a Small School District
Decision-making and a Secret Weapon
A technical committee composed of teachers and staff from each of the schools, as well a couple of students, Becker himself, and the occasional community resident, such as the person who runs a local computer business, meets on a quarterly basis, when there are new topics to address. Becker said the group has only met once in this school year, since he's been finishing up initiatives, such as the fiber upgrade, that were already approved.
During those meetings, Becker explained, his job is "to say we don't have unlimited resources. There's a thousand things we can spend technology money on. We have to be able to take this forward and say, 'How is it going to help the student learn more or help the teacher? What's our business case?'"
From there, the committee's recommendations go the board of education for approval.
But in the area of security decisions, Becker typically comes up with the projects that should probably be undertaken.
Even there, however, he doesn't make decisions alone. He relies on a resource called "MOREnet." Established in 1991, the Missouri Research and Education Network provides Internet connectivity, access to Internet2, technical support, videoconferencing services, and training to the state's K-12 schools, colleges, universities, public libraries, health care, state government, and other affiliated organizations. "They provide a great service, especially to smaller districts that operate on leaner budgets and staffing," said Becker.
For a yearly fee, the district has access to training (including numerous security-related events) and expertise. (MOREnet helped Becker's district negotiate its latest fiber lease agreement.) Becker relies on the organization's security experts to keep him updated on security threats that are hitting in the state. "They might send out an e-mail: 'Make sure you're applying this patch. If you're seeing traffic from here, take these steps....'"
In fact, said Becker, the director of security for MOREnet actually "used to sit in my chair," as the first technical coordinator for this school district.
Becker also uses MOREnet for professional networking. When he's evaluating different products, he'll use the listserv mailing list to ask others how they're addressing specific security concerns. "Maybe I'm looking for a new firewall. I'll send out a message: 'What's everybody doing for firewalls?' Then I might get a bunch of schools [responding]."
In spite of a tight budget, limited resources and a small staff, Becker said he sees the future unfolding for his district. With the greater bandwidth he said he envisions offering a way to provide classes through distance learning that aren't currently offered. Likewise, a new student information system may be in the works, once a new superintendent is in place. Plus, he said he anticipates going digital with video surveillance. Until then, he has logs to monitor, listserv messages to read, and a bunch of computers to upgrade.
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About the author: Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business for a number of publications. Contact her at dian@dischaffhauser.com.
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