The Coachella Valley Alliance (CVA) is a Joint Powers of Agreement Organization. It is an association of institutions setup for a common purpose that would be beyond the capabilities of a single member of the group.

Mission Statement:

The future belongs to those who can successfully adapt to, and keep pace with the constant changes within the information technology industry.

Purpose:

The CVA members collective buying power, has created a strategic partnership with certain service providers in lowering members network costs while earning income from these service providers based on a percentage of the members collective billing.

This earned revenue is used specifically for a gifting program of technological educational tools that are needed in the classroom, where there are no funds. The CVA members benefit and at the same time they share the mutual goal of promoting Education First and Building Futures.

The purposes of CVA are:

To provide lower cost telecommunication services and information technology through volume discount purchasing of state-of-the-art telecommunications and information technology for the benefit of CVA’s member agencies and, in addition, to:

(i) Collectively negotiate favorable terms for the acquisition of telecommunication and information technology equipment and services;
(ii) Establish a telecommunications infrastructure serving education and government that will meet the information technology needs of the region;
(iii) Improve the ability to communicate via voice and data telecommunications and to stimulate interaction among member organizations for sharing data, resources, and communication facilities

The purpose is to provide Internet access and IT solutions such as Voice, Data and Media to their affiliated organizations at a lower cost. To achieve this purpose the CVA is constantly seeking telecommunication services through volume discount purchasing of state-of-the-art telecommunications and information technology; through any, all or any combination of the following: negotiating favorable terms for the acquisition of telecommunication and information technology equipment and services, establishing a telecommunications infrastructure serving education and government that will meet the information technology needs of the region, improve the ability to communicate via voice and data telecommunications and to stimulate interaction among member organizations for sharing data, resources, and communication facilities.

As it is mentioned, the purpose of the CVA and one of the main benefits of the Alliance members is the collective buying power, and the members sharing their resources in technology. All possible revenues will be directed to provide additional help in the areas that each educational institution only can’t afford.

The Alliance member also qualifies for Direct Wholesale pricing from Cisco, Nortel, Etc, equipment manufacturers.

Founder Members:

1. Coachella Valley Unified School District
2. Desert Sands Unified School District

Members:

We currently have a collective body of government and not for profit organizations who subscribe to over 25000 lines of network services.

Board of Directors:

• Dr. George Araya, President
  Director of Educational Technology, Desert Sands Unified School District
• Joyce Pudis, Treasurer
  Risk Management Administrator, Coachella Valley Unified School District
• Carla Felix, Clerk
  Student Information Specialist, Desert Sands Unified School District
• Charles King, Board Member
  Network Services Supervisor, Desert Sands Unified School District
• Jacqueline Mercier, Board Member
  Telecommunications Consultant, Eagles Soar Communications
• Bill Rouse, Board Member
  Principal, Desert Adventist Academy

Facts:

In the Coachella Valley we are isolated from large metropolitan areas and each organization is duplicating efforts to solve their IT problems. Our common problem is the high fees for Internet access, not enough capacity to provide access, duplication of efforts from several organizations, and to provide IT solutions that each educational institution can't afford.

Organization:

The following is the CVA organizational diagram

How to Join the CVA:
         To join the CVA, the agency:

1. Should designate a representative by appointment by the member agency’s governing board, provided that the governing board of the member agency may delegate its appointment authority to the city manager, district superintendent or chief executive officer.  Each member’s governing board also may appoint one alternate who may attend meetings and vote in the event of absence of the representative.  Each representative or alternate of a Member must be a public agency staff member and not an elected official of the Member.
2. Agree to comply with the rules and regulations of the CVA established by the bylaws and rules and regulations of the Joint Power of Agreement for the CVA.