School buses equipped with WiFi will soon be parked around Horry County for students
Wireless internet services will soon be mobilized on school buses to aid Horry County students to continue learning electronically for at least the rest of the month.
Horry County School board members met virtually Monday for the first time due to the COVID-19 closure. All South Carolina public schools have been closed by the governor’s order since March 16 until the end of April.
The district’s executive team members each updated the board on how their departments are operating under the extended closure.
Daryl Brown, chief officer of support services, said the district is waiting on the state’s vendor to equip school buses with WiFi hotspots that will park in different parts of the county to provide internet access to students.
Students currently can access WiFi in school parking lots 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, but Brown acknowledged some students may not be able to get to a school parking lot due to a lack of transportation.
HCS requested 20 buses with WiFi, but Brown said state officials are restricting districts to a maximum of 10, which he expects will be sent to specific areas in each attendance zone, with two in Carolina Forest because it’s the largest.
Superintendent Rick Maxey said state officials have estimated HCS buses will be equipped with WiFi services by April 24.
Board member Janice Morreale, who heads the technology committee, suggested looking into equipping the district’s own buses to provide these services earlier, possibly using coronavirus relief money the district is expected to receive.
John Gardner, the district’s chief financial officer, said state education officials expect about $216 million will be available for K-12 education from the federal CARES Act, which stands for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Gardner said the state will allocate up to $19 million to districts based upon their attendance population, but it’s still unclear when that money might be received.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 9:05 PM.
