The Knoxville School District has approved the purchase of technology upgrades. Tech Director Barry Smith says that government funding will help the district’s network stay secure and in top condition.

“We always try to upgrade some of our infrastructure. We slotted some projects in that capacity to work with the federal government, where they can provide some significant savings to our district. On this particular bid, we were looking for a new firewall, which is always important. We’re looking for security as we try to avoid any potential risks to our environment. We upgraded our firewall, which hasn’t been replaced since 2014, as well as a few minor switch upgrades at the high school. We’re looking at a $30,000 project overall, and with the funding we received, we were able to complete it at a cost of just $10,000 for the district.”

In addition to these upgrades, the district also approved the purchase of 320 new Macbooks for all staff and for student laptop carts. Read more about the district’s technological upgrades here.