By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
With a financing proposal finally in place, the Burlington Area School District Finance Committee approved a three-year technology lease that has been discussed over the last month.
The committee approved the lease on a unanimous vote, sending it to the full School Board for approval next week.
The lease will provide one-on-one technology to students in grades 2 through 12 with Chromebooks – laptop computers using Google’s operating system. Students in kindergarten and first grade will have Apple iPads and Chromebooks to share.
Burlington High School students will be able to take the Chromebooks home at night to use, though the district is still putting together a parent letter, parent meetings and a handbook outlining what will happen if the computer is damaged.
The cost of the lease – which is the technical term used even though BASD will end up keeping the equipment – is $795,859.42. That will be split into three payments of $270,425.
It’s an increase from the current tech lease payment of $253,000, but there will no longer be a line item in BASD Director of Technology Scott Christensen’s budget for the purchase of Chromebooks. That will make up the difference in the two numbers.
BASD will go through Providence Capital, which holds the district’s current lease.
“We’re very happy with their services,” said Christensen at Monday night’s committee meeting.
The lease plan, he added, will give the district the most flexibility moving forward, including possibly keeping some of the computers in circulation for longer than three years.
“That leaves us the most options at the end of our contract,” he said.
The items being purchased include 360 iPad minis, 60 iMacs that include AppleCare protection coverage, 2,600 Lenovo N22 Chromebooks with a management console and white glove service, 50 LockNCharge carrier carts, 360 iPad mini cases, 200 Cranium Chromebook covers for Dell Chromebooks the district is keeping, and 2,800 Cranium Chromebook covers for the Lenovos being purchased.
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