Dallas Public Schools (Dallas ISD), Dallas, TX, 1994-1996
Budget: 4.5 Million
Project Manager: Lanelle Prettyman

Chaired Departmental committee to schedule on-site interviews with all department heads and key personnel to develop comprehensive business analysis of needs and design of floor plans. System designed to replace Plexar and numerous switches with multi-node master switch and WAN-based remotes. Wrote RFP, conducted site surveys and vendor conferences, evaluated and assessed vendor responses, and hosted numerous vendor presentations and negotiating sessions in accordance with the Texas High Technology Procurement statutes. Prepared and presented board documents and for board approval. Project Management to assure quality control of voice, data, and network. Negotiated the opening of the 214-989-xxxx prefix for the exclusive use of the District city-wide, and developed a logical numbering plan so that each block of numbers would represent a unique location. Interfaced with Public Relations to publicize new numbers to promote acceptance throughout the community and minimize confusion, prior to start of the new school year. Began the phased-in replacement of Plexar at all locations beginning with 3 massive Lucent voice switches, 9 remote nodes, IVR, video via WAN between nodes and Administration for community meetings and distance learning, messaging, video switching, optical fiber backbone, integration of LAN-based employee directory and computer telephony integration, end user training, and city-wide coordinated dialing plan for 20,000 lines.

Longview I.S.D., Longview, TX, 1994-95
Budget: $500,000
Project Manager: Lanelle Prettyman

Located in East Texas serving 25 schools. Key personnel interviews to develop comprehensive business analysis of needs. Equipment room specifications and building distribution cabling for voice and data network. Present system included separate demarcs for Plexar in elementary and temporary classroom buildings with outdated wiring and temperatures unacceptable for remote location placement of equipment. School district personnel wanted to explore feasibility of replacing Plexar with switches with multi-node master switch and remotes where appropriate. Wrote RFP utilizing Texas High Technology Procurement. Prepared and presented recommendations to board for approval. Recommendation replaced Plexar in large facilities with Nortel system and Plexar in individual small locations.. Network design for integration of voice and data for all locations.

Rio Grande C.I.S.D, 1993-1999
Budget: $425,000
Project Manager: Lanelle Prettyman

Rio Grande C.I.S.D. is located in lower Rio Grande Valley. The county is rated as the poorest
county in the United States. School administration, one elementary, middle school and support facilities are located on an old Army base. Services are located in old Army barracks. The school district was served by a Verizon Centranet DMS 100 located in Rio Grande City. Support was dismal and the building distribution cable was poorly installed, not bonded or grounded, improperly terminated and not labeled. There were many reports of trouble and cross talk on lines. Off campus facilities include the high school, and 10 elementary schools served by various Nortel key systems. There was no integration or network of schools. There was limited distance learning provided from South Texas Community College in McAllen..

Our scope of work included switch room design co-locating with the present demarc and designing electrical and environmental to support the new PBX., individual frames, intercampus, and remote location networking, building distribution cabling plans for voice and data, physical inventory of existing services, reconciliation of billing, long distance request for proposal, network design, RFP utilizing high tech procurement guidelines, vendor solicitation and negotiation and deployment of equipment. The benefits of replacing Centranet reduced the monthly rate, replaced all wiring and provided detailed cabling plans thereby reducing repair time, voice mail and automated attendant design, old number new number implementation and publication, submissions of reports and presentations to board and 35 % discount on approved recommendation. Distance learning and E-rate utilized as appropriate.

Tyler Independent School District, Tyler, TX 2002
Annual Savings: $31,081
Project Manager: Mary Ann Wagner

Conducted physical inventory, labeled existing lines, inventoried Nortel equipment, key systems and all existing data and telecommunications and reconciled billing at 42 locations. Tyler Independent School District has Plexar terminating in several Nortel PBX’s and key systems. Tyler has portable buildings connected by home runs for the Plexar stations. The result of our inventory uncovered savings for over billed services which were negotiated with the vendor and returned in bill credits to Tyler I.S.D.

University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX, 1994-1995
Budget: $1.5 Million
Project Manager: Lanelle Prettyman

Business analysis and extensive system design to replace existing Plexar with PBX-based switch. Wrote RFP, conducted site surveys and vendor conferences, evaluated and assessed vendor responses, and hosted numerous vendor presentations and negotiating sessions. Project management to provide quality control of deployment of voice/video switch, data, external network, and campus-wide multi-strand fiber infrastructure and internal building distribution cabling, to interconnect all communications modes to all facilities throughout campus. Performed feasibility study to design optimum WAN connectivity to local Community Colleges for distance learning. Designed and implemented ATM fiber ring on campus. Analyzed profit feasibility of providing shared tenant services to dorm rooms on campus. Developed price list for internal department rebilling program for all technology expenses.