This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Sunday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article. FB: The lack of rural broadband restricts local schools’ remote learning options.When Gov. Tom Wolf ordered Pennsylvania school to move to remote learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring, local school officials knew there were going to be challenges.One of the biggest issues that arose for local schools is one that plagued school districts across the state, Pennsylvania’s lack of rural broadband internet.“There’s a definite equity issue with kids, especially rural kids, to get high-speed internet,” said Tom Samosky, superintendent of Moniteau school district.Broadband internet is defined by the FCC of download speeds of at least 25 megabytes per second (Mbps) and at upload speeds of at least five Mbps.Expanding broadband internet to rural Pennsylvania is one of the major goals of Wolf’s Restore Pennsylvania initiative.The governor’s office has estimated that 520,000 rural Pennsylvanians do not have broadband internet and it could cost up to $715 million to spread broadband across the state.“The government can throw money around and we can certainly help, but it doesn’t happen overnight,” said Allen Hassler, general manager of Armstrong Butler.Hassler said connecting rural areas to reliable internet requires time, careful planning and money.“We want to make sure we would be connecting people, not just a bunch of trees.” Hassler said of expanding service to rural areas.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Sunday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article. FB: The lack of rural broadband restricts local schools’ remote learning options.