DIXFIELD — Regional School Unit 56 Technology Director Brian Keene told directors Tuesday night that upgrading the electronic network will begin this month and take three to four weeks.

Brian Keene, Regional School Unit 56 technology director, speaks to directors Tuesday at Dirigo High School in Dixfield. Upgrades to the electronic network system will begin this month, he said. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times

An estimated 80% to 82% of the cost was paid by a $93,403 grant received last year from the E-Rate program of the Federal Communications Commission. The rest of the money needed will come from the district’s technology reserve fund, Keene said.

The E-Rate program makes telecommunications and information services more affordable for schools and libraries, according to the FCC website. With money from the Universal Service Fund (fcc.gov/general/universal-service-fund), E-Rate provides discounts for telecommunications, internet access and internal connections to eligible schools and libraries.

The data privacy project for the school district has been the biggest one pushed the past couple of years, Keene said. The work involves “just making sure that any software that views the district (computer programs) does have a data privacy agreement and making sure that our student (and) staff data is all protected when they’re out there on the internet,” he said.

The technology department is also working on upgrading security cameras in the school buildings, Keene said. At Dirigo High School in Dixfield they are swapping some cameras to be on the same system as their current vape detector security cameras, he said. “So, it’s a little easier for our school administrators to go in and look at video.”

Instead of looking at three different video systems as the district currently has, they will have one to view, which should make it easier for administrators to manage and maintain, he said.