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IT update: servers migrated, Windows 11 and iPad refresh in progress; Synergy SIS to move to vendor cloud
Summary
District technology staff told the board they have migrated servers to the regional ESD data center to cut power use, deployed Windows 11 to a pilot group, ordered a refresh of student iPads, and are planning to move Synergy hosting to the vendor’s cloud; hosting costs will increase, staff said.
Damien Schroeder and other technology staff briefed the board on recent infrastructure and device work, a server migration, an upcoming student‑device refresh and a planned move of the Synergy student information system to vendor hosting.
Staff said they migrated 26 physical servers to the Southern Oregon ESD data center, which they said will improve backup robustness and reduce on‑site power usage; the presenter estimated roughly $31,000 per year in power savings from decommissioning older on‑site hardware. The district also replaced an aging uninterruptible power supply (UPS) at the network core to increase run time during outages.
IT staff reported a Windows 11 rollout: about one‑third to one‑half of staff laptops were upgraded during spring break and the remainder will be upgraded over the summer to minimize classroom disruption.
The district has ordered a refresh of student iPads (1:1 program). The devices will be prepared offsite (asset tagged, tested and configured) and delivered after July 1 for school‑year distribution; the presenter said student iPads are permitted to go home over the summer and that the district offers a $25 annual protection plan (family cap $100) to cover accidental damage. Staff said loss rates have been under 1 percent annually and that the district can remotely lock devices and display a recovery message if a device is reported lost or stolen.
Staff also said they will move Synergy hosting from the consortium’s current host (a local district data center) to Edupoint’s cloud hosting. The presenter said the move enables features and reporting not available on the current platform but confirmed there will be a hosting cost increase; specific dollar amounts were not provided in the presentation and will be supplied later.
Board members asked for the percentage cost increase; staff said they would provide the comparative hosting costs to the board. IT staff also noted planned Chromebook orders for a small site (Ursio) and continued summer maintenance work in classrooms.
