District seeks board approval to buy 7,215 Chromebooks to refresh middle- and high-school devices

Cabarrus County Schools asked the board Sept. 8 to approve a capital-funded purchase of 7,215 Lenovo 100e Chromebooks and related services under the state contract, with staff saying the buy advances a multi-year refresh strategy and provides five-year warranties and licensing. Assistant superintendent Carl Sain told the board the district needs an ongoing refresh cycle and that schools report heavy daily Chromebook use: district telemetry showed students average roughly 37–45 minutes per student per day on learning platforms, with elementary use concentrated on iReady and middle/high use centered on Canvas. Sain said the purchase would refresh sixth- and ninth-grade devices and leave extras for high-need elementary schools. Financial and procurement details: the purchase uses capital funds already appropriated (about $3.14 million) and leverages the state contract 204A and vendor CDW-G to secure manufacturer discounts; Sain said the quoted price represented more than a 30% saving versus MSRP and includes white-glove deployment and five-year warranties. Device policy: staff said the district provides devices for student use and generally discourages reliance on personal devices for classroom access; district policy requires use of district-provided devices for standard instructional platforms and testing. What happens next: board members indicated they would place the item on the consent agenda; staff said the quote is valid through September and that the purchase will help the district move to an 8,000-device-per-year cadence that sustains a four- to five-year refresh cycle.