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Board approves purchase of student Chromebooks after device failures; donated funds to cover part of cost
Summary
Trustees approved up to $133,000 for student Chromebooks after vendor pricing negotiations; the purchase covers devices for incoming grades and replaces units rendered unusable by a Google update affecting security software.
Rockport‑Fulton ISD trustees approved a purchase of student Chromebooks not to exceed $133,000, using budgeted general funds and donated funds, after technology staff said a Google change disabled security filtering on a portion of the district’s devices.
IT presenter Chris Garris told trustees the district planned to buy approximately 500 devices for rising sixth graders and freshmen on a rolling replacement plan. He said a recent Google change “bricked a good chunk of our Chromebooks” by preventing the district’s security and filtering extensions from running, which forced the district to return to its full planned purchasing to avoid being short on student devices.
The purchase was to be paid with $39,750 from local funds and $91,050 from donated funds; trustees were told the donated funds include leftover Harvey donations. Trustee Bridal moved the approval and Trustee Burton seconded; the motion passed 5–0.
