Recently, Governor Scott Walker announced the availability of $15 million for Technology for Educational Achievement (TEACH) Information Technology Infrastructure grants.
The Information Technology Infrastructure grants assist districts in rural areas in acquiring the equipment and services necessary to build a modern infrastructure system to aid in student education.
“Our 2017-19 state budget provided historic levels of K-12 education aid, including an increase in TEACH grant funding,” Governor Walker said. “Increasing aid to rural schools for technology is one way we can ensure that students have the tools they need to excel. These grants provide rural school districts with resources to increase and upgrade technology in the classroom.”
Eligible school districts can now send applications to the Department of Administration in hopes to receive one of the grants. The 2018 grants are available to rural school districts that have 16 or fewer students per square mile. Available funding is determined by the number of students within the district. A list of eligible school districts and the maximum funding available can be found on the TEACH website. Listed districts are eligible for grants between $30,000 and $60,000.
The grants can be used for infrastructure equipment and services such as access points, antennas, maintenance of internal connections, cabling, caching equipment and services, LAN controllers, routers, switches, UPS/battery backup, and wireless controllers.
The 2017-19 biennial budget, and the 2017 Wisconsin Act 59, provided for $22.5 million in total for Information Technology Infrastructure grants which are a part of the greater TEACH initiative.
Eligible school districts can find application materials for the TEACH Information Technology Infrastructure grants online at the TEACH website. Grant applications must be submitted to DOA by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, February 2, 2018. Late applications will not be considered.
For more information about the grant requirements or application process, visit the TEACH website.