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Midway ISD tech director reports low iPad breakage, $1 million resale gain and parent concerns about early‑grade screen time
Summary
Technology staff told the board 9,600 district iPads performed well this year with fewer than 1% repairs and $1,000,000 recovered from resale; staff also described E‑rate funding dependence, an access‑control upgrade, vape sensors and a new parent portal, while a kindergarten parent urged review of iPad use in early grades.
Midway ISD technology staff on May meeting night reported what they described as successful first full year of a 1:1 iPad program, and outlined several network and security projects while fielding a public comment from a parent asking the district to review device use in early elementary grades.
"Over 9,600 iPads in the wild, we've only done 95 repairs," Jesse (staff member) said, noting that 95 repairs represent under 1% breakage. He told the board the district also received its final check from last year’s device resale and "we were able to make a $1,000,000 back on that sale." Jesse said those resale returns and device longevity factor into total cost‑of‑ownership calculations when comparing platforms.
Jesse walked trustees through technology projects the district is carrying into summer: a new access‑control system demoed as "On Guard by Linel s 2" to consolidate cameras and door management, replacement of older teacher VDI workstations with new all‑in‑one PCs, migration to a new firewall platform, and replacement of old key cards with new, more secure cards. He said the district planned to complete access‑control work before teachers return in August. Jesse also reported the district had installed 87 vape sensors and planned to analyze middle/high school data over the summer.
On federal funding, Jesse said Midway has relied on E‑rate discounts tied to its free/reduced lunch rate and that a pending Supreme Court challenge to aspects of E‑rate funding could be consequential. "Since 2021, we've received over a million dollars in funding toward Internet service and network equipment," he said, and the district expects a court decision in late June or early July.
Jesse described a forthcoming parent transparency tool in beta testing, "Lightspeed Parent Portal," that will allow automated parent enrollment and reports of web activity for district devices. He said the vendor plans a late‑summer release and staff can manually enroll a small number of parents in the meantime.
During public comment, Ally Roten (parent) said she declined an iPad for her kindergartner and allowed only supervised, limited use for district testing. She said a substitute later gave the child an iPad and the child reported, "something scary popped up." Roten asked the district to review the developmental appropriateness of frequent device use in early grades and consider stricter limits for younger students.
Jesse and board members discussed parental opt‑outs, classroom variability in iPad use, and what data the district can produce about device time and apps used. Jesse said the content‑filter provider is beta testing a parent portal that will let parents receive weekly activity PDFs and see blocked content. He encouraged parents who want a manual enrollment now to contact technology staff.
Ending: Staff will bring usage and sensor data after summer collection and continue work on access control, E‑rate items, and parent‑portal rollout; trustees asked staff to report back with implementation details and opt‑out counts if available.
