Real IT leadership for the schools that need it most — without the full-time hire.
Director-level K–12 IT leadership, embedded with your leadership team, delivering strategy, cybersecurity, and vendor management at roughly a third of a full-time hire.
Built specifically for schools 150–1,500 students
- Catholic, independent, Christian, and public schools
- Bases in Palm Coast and Tampa Bay, Florida, plus Houston, Texas; remote and onsite delivery
- Microsoft 365 & Google Workspace specialists
- MSc Computer Science · Director of IT at a Florida Catholic high school
- 90-day onboarding plan included
Where we go deep
The awkward middle most schools are stuck in.
Independent and faith-based schools your size keep getting nickel-and-dimed by generic MSPs who don't understand education. We get it, because K–12 IT is the work we know.
Three engagement levels. One straightforward retainer.
Every tier includes a 90-day onboarding plan, monthly executive readout, and the full Mars Network policy library.
- Monthly strategy meeting with head of school
- Quarterly IT roadmap & budget review
- Annual cybersecurity posture review
- Annual M365 / Google Workspace tenant audit
- Policy template library access
- Vendor contract review on request
- Onsite: 1 visit per quarter
- Bi-weekly strategy cadence with leadership
- Active M365 / Google Workspace administration
- Quarterly vulnerability assessments + MFA/EDR oversight
- FERPA & state student data privacy program
- Active vendor escalations and renewals
- Direct supervision of internal IT / help desk
- Onsite: monthly + emergency response
- Weekly cadence + board / tech committee participation
- Full M365 / Google Workspace ownership + migrations
- Annual third-party-style security assessment
- Capital project ownership up to $100k included
- Full IT team management (1:1s, hiring, SLA)
- DR / BC plan with tabletop exercises
- Onsite: 2 visits per month + crisis response
- $1M liability insurance
- Registered Florida business
- Partners: Ubiquiti UniFi · HTD · AMP Lighting
Alex Marsaglia
Director of IT, Florida School
CIS Faculty, Multiple Universities
Built by someone who actually runs K–12 IT.
Mars Network Services is led by Alex Marsaglia: 15+ years in IT, including Director of IT at a Florida Catholic high school, IT manager at a K–12/SMB managed services provider, and university CIS faculty.
Prior leadership roles also include IT manager for a managed services firm serving K–12 and SMB clients, with operational ownership of annual technology budgets exceeding $500,000. The result is rare in this space: an embedded executive who understands both the academic side of the house and the technology that keeps it running.
Common questions.
Real questions we hear from heads of school and business managers before they sign on.
Is this an MSP?
No. An MSP closes tickets. Mars Network Services provides IT leadership — strategy, cybersecurity, vendor management, budget planning — and oversees whoever does your day-to-day support. If you want both, we'll help you choose a help-desk partner and supervise it.
How fast do you respond?
Foundation: one business day. Director: four business hours. Executive: one business hour during school hours, plus 24/7 for critical incidents. SLAs are written into the engagement letter.
What about cabling, cameras, access control?
We plan cabling, camera, and access-control projects as part of your technology roadmap and manage the vendors who install them, so strategy and installation answer to one person.
Where do you serve?
Nationwide for fractional IT, with remote-first delivery and onsite presence within driving range of our bases in Palm Coast and Tampa Bay, Florida, plus Houston, Texas. Travel within 60 miles of a base is included; beyond that, mileage at the IRS rate and pre-approved overnight stays.
Do you handle Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace?
Yes — administration of both is one of our core strengths. We run M365 tenants and Google Workspace environments every day, and we lead migrations regularly (Google ↔ M365, on-prem → cloud, and tenant-to-tenant consolidations). Ongoing administration is included in the Director and Executive tiers; migrations are quoted as a project add-on.
What does month one look like?
Discovery interviews, infrastructure walkthrough, vendor inventory, and a baseline cybersecurity assessment. By day 45 you have a written technology assessment and a 12-month roadmap; by day 90 you have two to four quick wins shipped and a regular leadership cadence in place.
Ready for a 30-minute conversation?
No slides, no sales pitch. Bring whatever's on your IT to-do list and we'll talk through it. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so.
Book a discovery call information@themarsnetwork.com