Grant gives rural students computer network

Monday, Nov. 3, 1997 | 10:24 a.m.

Thanks to a federal grant, Nye County students soon will be able to access the Library of Congress and attend classes miles away without leaving their hometowns.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development program announced that the 16 schools in the Nye County School District will receive $157,000 in grants and a $143,000 loan for the creation of a computer network.

The network, which will connect teachers with classes districtwide, is intended to provide extended curriculum to students in outlying areas.

"The need for technology improvements to support distance learning is better demonstrated in Nye County than in any other county in the continental U.S.," said USDA Rural Development State Director Sarah Mersereau.

Classrooms in Duckwater, Gabbs, Tonopah, Beatty, Amargosa, Round Mountain and Pahrump will be linked. The system will give every classroom access to the Nevada Education Network, which brings every library in the United States to students' fingertips.

The Nye County funding is one of 50 projects made possible by Vice President Al Gore's efforts to increase access to the Internet. Since 1993, the USDA rural development distance learning program has provided $51.7 million in grants to rural America.