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Palo Alto Online

District pulls plug on wireless network

by Rachel Metz

In a swift reaction to the Weekly's revelation of a major wireless and network security breach last week, the Palo Alto Unified School District abruptly turned off wireless Internet and computer network access across the district and removed several wireless nodes from Palo Alto High School.

Paly staff members said they were given no advance warnings and were surprised to find the nodes had been removed.

"I just thought, you know, call me, I'd be happy to give permission. You could even just notify me in advance," Paly English teacher Paul Kandell said.

Kandell, who advises the school's journalism Web site, lent one of the nodes to the district.

Marie Scigliano, PAUSD Director of Educational Technology and Student Services, said the district's information technology department decided to deactivate the wireless system near the end of last week. Whether nodes were removed or simply disconnected depended on the type of node.

She said the district is working on network maintenance right now and is not sure if the wireless network will be up and running when school starts in the fall.

"At this point, whether wireless comes back or not is not something I would not be able to speculate on right now," Scigliano said. "It's being evaluated and based on the evaluation then we'll make a determination from there."

When Doug Bertain, Paly's engineering technology teacher, noticed his wireless nodes were missing, he feared they had been stolen.

"I reported the missing wireless units to (Paly Principal Sandra Pearson) and she called the district before she called the police," he said.

Bertain, who maintains Paly's on-campus network, said about 14 of his students were working on an invention to enter in a Massachusetts Institute of Technology contest this August. Ironically, he said, they are trying to invent an inexpensive, secure wireless connection kit for high schools around the country. The contest boasts a $10,000 prize, and students need the wireless hubs to finish their project.

"I guess they were just upset. I mean, all of them were upset. We were all upset. Like, 'Geez, all of this has to happen now.' We enjoy doing new and innovative things. That's where we get our fun," Bertain said.

Paly vice principal Chuck Merritt, who is in charge of technology facilities at the school, said he was informed shortly before the wireless access was turned off and then notified soon after the nodes were removed from Paly. He said he does not know where the equipment is right now.

Merritt said a local company is allowing Bertain's students to use their wireless to test their project.

"We have every hope of course that our team will come out on top of the MIT contest. But I really don't know what's going to happen with wireless in the future," Merritt said.

Kandell has not heard any official notice of when the hubs will be returned, and is concerned their removal will impede the abilities of teachers and students to continue the technical support they have provided in the past.

"All I know is that Doug (Bertain's) program has provided tremendous support to us and I'm just leery of that changing. That's where I'm coming from and I hope that the people that are making the decisions are doing so cautiously and that they're not overreacting," Kandell said.

After a check of his network, Kandell said he and his students can still access and modify the Paly Voice site as they have all year.

Aaron Stone, a Paly robotics mentor and volunteer for PalyNET -- the school's Web site -- said some of the nodes taken from Paly were purchased with robotics or PTSA funds.

"It's not a matter of purchasing them or whatever, they're connected to the school district network and anything that's connected to the school district network needs to be evaluated," Scigliano said.

Rachel Metz can be e-mailed at rmetz@paweekly.com