Columbus Dispatch

Hundreds of thousands of families are challenged by modern economic, education, and health-care systems while living without internet access in rural Ohio. COVID-19 has exacerbated the issue, but the problem has been persistent in Appalachia for decades. In 2019 the Buckeye Hills Regional Council applied for a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to conduct an eight-county study — in Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry and Washington counties — in partnership with Ohio University and the Athens County Economic Development Council.

A push from an advocacy group for children in Ohio’s Appalachian region and two former governors has led Gov Mike DeWine’s (R-OH) administration to decide to expand broadband services to students without requiring school districts match 50% of their allocations. When the DeWine administration initially launched its plan to use a $50 million grant from federal CARES Act funds to purchase Wi-Fi hot spots and internet-enabled devices late in July, officials set a 50% match contribution for school districts to access the money.

 In the Symmes Valley Local School District in Lawrence County, in southern Ohio, Superintendent Darrell Humphreys estimates that less than 15% of his 800 students have “good internet,” capable of streaming video. The rural district has Wi-Fi in its two-building campus, when it’s open. But within a 30-minute drive there is no McDonald’s or other fast-food place that has an internet hot spot. In fact, “a large part of the district doesn’t even have cellphone service,” Humphreys said. Instead, assignment packets, about 20 pages each, have been mailed to each student’s home.