OCPS CIO outlines device lease plan, AI pilots and central data dashboard to reduce repair delays and unify reporting

At a work session on April 1, 2025, Orange County Public Schools Chief Information Officer Maurice (Maurice) Dragon presented a package of IT initiatives intended to stabilize device management, expand approved artificial intelligence (AI) tools for staff, and centralize district dashboards and reporting in a new "OCPS Data Center." The presentation proposed moving from lump-sum device purchases to a lease model that includes extended warranties, rolling out teacher-facing AI tools and a district-level data catalog and business glossary to improve data governance. The board did not vote on the proposals; members asked staff for cost comparisons and a timeline for pilots.

Dragon told the board the 1-to-1 device program scaled districtwide beginning in 2015 with a major refresh from 2020–22 using ESSER funds and that many devices are now approaching four years of age. He recommended a lease model to spread replacement costs across years, provide predictable budgeting and include an extended warranty so repairs return to schools faster. Dragon said the team is developing a tiered repair-credit allocation (to replace the current blanket 5% repair-credit model) that will reflect grade-level repair patterns and reduce fees charged to schools and families.

The CIO also summarized OCPS’ early work on AI. An AI working group and departmental early adopters are piloting teacher tools and administrative automations; vendors mentioned included Microsoft, Google, Conmigo (Khan Academy) and Adobe Firefly. Dragon said the district is prioritizing tools where vendor contracts explicitly prevent use of OCPS account inputs to train vendor models, and where the vendor commits to data protection. He described potential AI uses such as automated administrative reports, tutoring supports for students and natural-language queries of district dashboards —always with teacher oversight and human review for accuracy and equity.

On data governance, Dragon described the creation of a cross-division data governance committee to build a business glossary and a data catalog, standardize definitions and provide a centralized “OCPS Data Center” that will surface quick facts, insights dashboards and consolidated reports from systems such as Skyward and SAP. The Data Center will include a teacher- and administrator-facing analytics section (grades, tests, attendance, discipline) and a natural-language question feature to let authorized users ask plain-English questions of the dashboard data.

Board members asked about cost, sustainability and instructional impact. Member Gallo said she wants to see a close analysis of whether a permanent districtwide 1-to-1 is sustainable and suggested piloting reduced home-use at elementary grades: "I would like us to have a conversation about what that would look like if we pulled 1-to-1 devices out of our elementary schools," she said. The CIO said warranty provisions built into the proposed lease would reduce repair timelines and that he would provide detailed comparative cost figures.

Other board members supported the OCPS Data Center and praised the data-governance work. Member Ferrant called the Data Center “incredible” and said centralized dashboards will save teachers and administrators time. Several members expressed caution about AI, asking for clear training for teachers and students and firm guardrails against misuse. Superintendent Dr. Vasquez noted budget pressures and said planned pilots and procurement will be prioritized against the district’s fiscal restraints.

Next steps: ITS will provide the board with comparative numbers showing (a) the full cost of device purchases plus repair expenses and (b) the projected lease cost including warranty and repair efficiencies; ITS will also outline timelines for AI pilot expansion and for initial OCPS Data Center rollouts. Dragon said some teacher-facing AI tools could be available for wider use as early as the start of the next school year, with centralized dashboards expanding as focus groups and department pilots complete tooling and data validation.