Video courtesy USD 489
By James Bell
Hays Post
During Monday night’s USD 489 Board of Education meeting the board approved the purchase of 80 iPads after finding the district short due to increased enrollment.
Going into the meeting, however, the proposed number was a bit higher, with an initial recommend purchase of 100 iPad Airs and 20 iPad Minis proposed to the board, as an effort to ensure the district’s one-to-one technology would be available to every student as soon as possible.
“I know it looks like a rather large number, 100 Airs 20 Minis,” said Scott Summers, technology director, during his proposal.
A technical glitch caused around 40 of the district’s iPad Airs to be unusable immediately this year, and so with an eye towards expected increased enrollment again next year, Summers pitched the idea of purchasing 100 Airs now, giving the district time to clear the currently locked systems.
They would then be put back into rotation next year, potentially stopping the need to purchase more devices to cover higher enrollment in the fall of 2018.
“We need 96, with that 96 about 40 of them are sitting in the office right now and they have an activation lock from Apple on them,” Summers said.
“More or less they are a glorified paperweight to us for the time being.”
The lock occurred when the Apple IDs were not cleared from the devices at the end of last year. The district’s management server was expected to clear the IDs, but it only worked on some of the devices.
After finding units were unable to be unlocked Summer said he spoke with Apple to determine what steps needed to be completed, finding the district would need to furnish Apple with proof of ownership before the devices could be unlocked.
That process could occur in two to three weeks he said, but the timeframe is dependent on Apple and there was little the district could do to speed up the process.
During his initial presentation, he also told the board the after discovering the problem this year steps would be taken to ensure the problem would not reoccur.
But even counting the approximately 40 units currently locked up the district is still short to supply each student with a device, with three tiers of devices utilized district-wide.
Kindergarten through first grade use the Minis, second through eighth utilize the Airs and high school students are on a different platform altogether.
This year increased enrollment in kindergarten and more students moving into second grade than moving past eighth caused the shortage of the Airs and increased kindergarten enrollment caused the need for the Minis.
The decision to purchase the 20 Minis posed no challenge for the board, but the approval of 100 additional Airs was a bit more problematic.
“Unfortunately, the iPad Air we bought last year was discontinued,” Summers said.
The biggest change in the Air as compared to the new model – the Air 2 – is the amount of storage available. The current district devices have 32 GB, but the new model has only two options, 16 GB or 64 GB.
The larger memory capacity would cost the district an additional $10,000 over the smaller amount.
Summers recommended the lower memory capacity and told the board it does not change the “dynamic” of the systems for students.
He also noted a higher repair cost is associated with the Air 2 because of the way the screen is manufactured. With the new model, the ability to replace only the outside glass screen – in cases of minor breakage – is no longer available as it is fused with other interior components.
“My concern is that we are already having the issue with the iPad Air being discontinued so now were having to buy the iPad Air 2, so why would we buy 40 and have them set there for a year potentially, when we could have waited and bought an iPad 3,” said Sarah Rankin, board member.
Summers responded the next expected release from Apple would likely bring the iPad Air into a more professional line and could cause significant changes to the platform.
Future price changes were also a concern to the board.
“My thought with that is the cost of (the Air 2) might drop…when you are buying a lot of them that can add up in a hurry,” said Luke Oborny, board member.
“I almost think I would approve a smaller amount tonight and then approve them again if you need them in May or June.”
Board president Lance Bickle agreed and asked Summers what the number would be to get every student a device this year, counting the number of currently locked devices.
Summers said an exact number would be known this week, as the technology rollout continues, but the shortage is in the range of 56-60 if the additional 40 that are currently locked out are utilized this year.
Superintendent John Thissen told the board he felt purchasing the 60 Airs and 20 Minis now would be better than waiting two weeks to get the final total, potentially causing further delays for some students to be issued devices.
The board agreed and unanimously approved the purchase for 60 iPad Airs and 20 Minis for $22,740 and $5,180, respectively.
During the meeting the board also approved:
- The FY 2017 budget.
- A 1.05 percent classified percent staff wage increase.
- The purchase of a vehicle for Early Childhood Connections fully funded thorough a Kansas Head Start Home visitation grant.
Justice for Joey, an organization that has been organized in the wake of the shooting death of Hays resident Joseph Weber, has planned a candlelight vigil for 8:30 p.m. Thu., Aug. 25, at Hickok Park, 26th and Donald Dr., to gather the community together to remember Weber.
