Explanation
This ordinance authorizes the City of Columbus, Department of Technology, to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Columbus Partnership (Partnership) to reimburse the Partnership $500,000.00 in CARES Act funding for the purchase of technology and services in support of remote learning for K-12 students. This is being done as part of the city and the Partnership’s efforts to provide remote connectivity for Columbus’ K-12 students.
K-12 public education statewide and within the City of Columbus in the midst of a teaching and learning paradigm shift that began before the Covid-19 pandemic. This shift expanded the traditional notion of the public classroom to an extended, or blended learning approach where a student’s education is augmented with rich K-12 content outside of the classroom.
The Covid-19 pandemic rapidly changed and reinforced the need to move to a virtual and blended learning approach to public education. In the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years, primary and secondary classrooms statewide were closed by executive order of the Governor due to Covid-19. Public schools across Ohio and the nation, continue to operate in a remote education or hybrid-learning models which require robust residential broadband connectivity to enable student access and learning.
With the on-going and ever-changing nature of Covid-19 locally, the need for various aspects of remote or blended learning for all K-12 students in Columbus continues.
As part of Community’s broadband outreach, and in order to provide residential connectivity for K-12 households, the City and Partnership are exploring alternative residential broadband connectivity technologies which may provide K-12 households with low-cost, affordable broadband options. To achieve this goal, with passage of this Ordinance, CARES Act funding will be used to support two (2) neighborhood broadband pilots as follows:
1. Internet equipment and services for up to 200 households $360,375
2. ...
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