Guilford County Schools warns of looming device-replacement bill, AI guidance and warranty gaps
Summary
Technology leaders told the Board that most student devices purchased during pandemic relief are at or near end-of-life, warranties will expire for roughly 71% of devices, and sustaining a 1:1 device program will require ongoing funding. The technology director also described AI guidance and internship work with students.
Guilford County Schools— technology services staff told the Board of Education that devices bought during the pandemic are reaching the end of their expected life cycles and that sustaining one-to-one access will require steady funding, new procurement choices and updated management practices.
Technology director Dr. Slayton outlined national trends — the end of pandemic ESSER funding, rising bandwidth and cybersecurity needs, and the rapid growth of AI in K–12 classrooms — and gave district-specific figures: the district manages roughly 96,000 devices, maintains a warehouse surplus of about 10,700 units, and currently records a device loss/damage rate near 5.9 percent. He said about 71 percent of the district—s devices will be out of warranty heading into the 2025–26 school year, creating a projected repair exposure of roughly $2.7 million for that year if current damage rates continue.
Why it matters: without a sustainable device-refresh strategy, the district risks losing its 1:1 device access as older devices fail or become unsupported. Technology staff recommended developing a multi-year plan and exploring subscription/technology-as-a-service models, manufacturer buyback credits and targeted capital requests.
Key numbers and options presented Dr. Slayton presented a sample life-cycle plan that would replace roughly one-fifth of the student and staff device fleet each year — an approach that would require an estimated $9 million in year one and an approximate $45 million over five years to maintain a rolling refresh cycle. He said the figure is illustrative and subject to procurement negotiations and market conditions; recent tariff and supply trends have already affected pricing.
Warranties and operational impacts The director warned that once warranties expire, repair costs, device downtime and cybersecurity risk rise. He gave an example: in 2023–24, if warranties were not in place, device repairs alone would have cost roughly $1.8 million; with warranties ending district-wide, the district could be facing multi-million-dollar repair and replacement needs in 2025–26.
AI, student training and inventory controls Technology staff also briefed the board on artificial intelligence. Dr. Slayton said district workgroups and advisory sessions with teachers, classified staff and students are shaping guidance and professional learning; he emphasized that teacher-facing training must precede broad student-facing policies. The district has an inventory dashboard that reports device status daily and a toolset that can remotely disable or lock devices that cannot be accounted for. If a locked device is later powered on and reconnects, the system will report its location to district staff.
Internships and workforce development As part of career and technical education partnerships, tech services ran paid student internships last summer that exposed students to warehousing, software development, IT support and cybersecurity work. Dr. Slayton said the experience both provided labor to the department and served as on-ramps to local technical careers.
Board questions and follow-up Board members asked about charger shortages (district gave surplus chargers to schools and ticket volume declined), whether device fees would help (district advised fees produce equity issues and administrative burdens), and the viability of multi-district purchasing and state contracts (district staff said state contracts and procurement rules shape options but additional cooperative approaches can be explored where lawful). Dr. Slayton recommended a cross-functional team to identify sustainable funding paths and to finalize a recommended refresh cadence for board consideration.
Ending: technology staff asked the board to consider the multi-year financing needs alongside other district priorities and said they will continue returning specific budgetary proposals and procurement options as the district refines its plan.
