<p>Brick Township School District Improves Collaboration, Increases Security …and Saves Money Doing It </p><p>Brick Township Public School District is currently deploying a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system throughout all district offices and schools, covering 14 buildings and affecting students, teachers and administrators. District officials expect the upgrade to save valuable dollars in telecommunication, personnel and maintenance charges. </p><p>The upgraded network replaces a limited, aging, private branch exchange (PBX) phone system. Approximately 750 IP phones will be installed, including one in every district classroom. “We will provide teachers easy access to one another, parents, administrators and public safety officials in the event of an emergency,” said James Edwards, Business Administrator for Brick Township. “The savings the district will realize are actually funding the project. This upgrade will improve communications in the district, while simultaneously reducing our expenses.”</p><p>Once deployed, the system also will create a comprehensive bell, scheduling and paging system that runs on a consolidated, centralized network management platform. “Bell schedules for the entire district, or any portion of it, can be easily changed to reflect an unexpected event, such as a two-hour delay caused by weather,” said Edwards.</p><p>In 2007, the district laid the foundation with an upgrade to its network infrastructure that included PoE (Power over Ethernet) switches, which delivers power to the telephone across the Ethernet connection. With the equipment already in place, installation began in July 2010 and will be completed by the end of the school year. </p><p>“During this economic downturn, it’s critical we build on existing equipment and hardware in an effort to reduce costs,” said Edwards. “Our network backbone allowed us to deploy a scalable solution that we will be able to continue investing in as new technologies become available.” </p><p>Continued Edwards, We are constantly looking for new ways to connect our district community. We have not only vastly improved collaboration and communication throughout our district’s campus, but we have also increased the safety and security of our students and teachers, thus fostering a positive learning environment</p><p>James Edwards, BA, Brick Township School District can be reached at [email protected] or 732-785-3000</p><p>Raymond B. Sikora, Associate Business Member, Cisco can be reached at [email protected] or 856-642-7041. </p>