Cuba schools superintendent Karen Sanchez-Griego says her students can’t wait any longer for quality internet access.
It was this need that led the school district in northwestern New Mexico to announce Wednesday that they have agreed to a $1.2 million deal with Starlink internet to provide hundreds of families with high speed internet access in their homes.
The deal with Starlight will allow the school district to install 450 units in students' homes. A service that nearby state and tribal governments were unable to provide, even as the pandemic began and the district switched to a virtual setting.
The Starlink units cost $500 each, and Sanchez-Griego said the installation in student’s homes began in November.
As it currently stands, funding to cover the monthly internet costs of every unit is set to run out. Sanchez-Griego is hopeful that when funding does eventually run out, state officials will cover future funding.