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Greece Central plans device refresh, wireless replacement and phone cloud migration
Summary
The district’s executive director of information technology outlined a multi‑year plan to refresh staff and student devices, move to warranty repairs for student Chromebooks, reduce and replace aging printers, replace the wireless network over two years, and migrate the telephone system to a cloud platform.
Brad Malone, executive director of information and instructional technology and digital innovation, briefed the board on a technology review and proposed multi‑year actions to stabilize aging equipment and improve support.
The nut graf: The district has an aging fleet of staff and student devices and network equipment; Malone proposed a 4‑year refresh schedule for staff devices, grade‑based student device refresh (K, 3, 6, 9), a warranty‑based repair process for student Chromebooks, a reduction and phased replacement of printers, a two‑year replacement of wireless infrastructure, and a summer migration of telephony to a cloud system.
Malone said his inventory review found roughly 3,400 devices assigned to staff but only about 1,700 employees who need daily devices, leading to an aging fleet without a consistent refresh schedule. He recommended standardizing devices by position, establishing clear life‑cycle replacement years, and offering teachers a choice between Chromebooks and Windows laptops where appropriate. Malone described a 4‑year refresh plan aligned to bargaining units.
For students, Malone proposed assigning individual Chromebooks at elementary level and replacing student devices on a K/3/6/9 schedule rather than waiting multiple years. He said hundreds of devices sit idle during summer because class sets cannot be assigned to students for summer learning.
On repairs, Malone said the district currently sends damaged student devices to BOCES for parts and repair and will instead move to manufacturer warranties to reduce turnaround time and stabilize costs.
Malone reported the district has about 800 printers with an average age of 10 years and recommended reducing the printer fleet and replacing units over the next few years. On network infrastructure, he said many network switches and wireless access points are at or nearing end of support: roughly 42% of access points are already end of support and a significant share of switches will be under support through October 2025. He recommended a full wireless network replacement over the next two years to reduce vulnerabilities and add capability.
On telephony, Malone said the district’s phone servers and devices are out of vendor support and subject to frequent failures; the plan is a complete overhaul this summer, replacing phones and migrating to a cloud telephony platform for added stability and control.
Board members asked about cybersecurity measures; Malone said the district uses monthly patching for Windows devices, multifactor authentication, an external security review and a firewall, and that the board would receive a memo with non‑public cybersecurity details. Members asked about handling old desktops (district returns devices to BOCES), notification prior to device refreshes (technicians will schedule appointments in advance) and data continuity for teacher desktops (user data is stored on servers so logins will transfer to new devices).
Ending: Malone said the work will require funding and multi‑year planning; the district will bring more detail and timelines, and staff will communicate replacement schedules and support logistics to employees in advance.
