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Technology director says upgrades complete; warns of phishing, AI and rising costs
Summary
The technology advisory committee reported progress on switches, wireless and interactive panels and warned the board about phishing (email compromise), rising tech costs and the need for AI guidance and asset management.
The King George County Schools' technology advisory committee presented its annual update to the school board on Oct. 20, saying the division has completed major infrastructure upgrades and is preparing next steps such as a device refresh, asset management and guidance on generative AI.
Hillary Haft, who presented on behalf of the advisory committee and technology department, told the board the division replaced switches and access points last year, improved wireless capacity, deployed 15 weapons‑detection units across buildings and distributed roughly 2,500 Chromebooks to students in three business days at the start of the school year. Haft said the division now has “the infrastructure to support up to 2,000 kids testing in one day,” an improvement over prior years.
Haft warned the board about an increase in targeted email attacks on staff. “Teachers that they’re hitting ... do not have two‑factor authentication on their emails, so it makes them a little bit more vulnerable,” she said, describing an incident in which a compromised account sent hundreds of emails to contacts. Haft said the division runs simulated phishing campaigns and short training modules for employees; when staff fall for a test email they view a brief module and are re‑tested.
The presentation also addressed generative AI in classrooms. Haft said roughly seven in 10 students reported using some type of generative AI in 2024. She said the division is offering a roughly two‑hour professional development module through Google Workspace titled “Generative AI for Education” and urged teachers to specify in assignment rubrics whether AI use is allowed or prohibited to avoid confusion about plagiarism.
Other near‑term priorities included piloting an asset‑management and work‑order system to replace spreadsheets, refreshing high‑school teacher laptops next year, continuing Chromebook refreshes, and expanding interactive panels (the district reported about 84 panels across classrooms). Haft listed rising technology costs, device repair workloads and network security threats such as ransomware and phishing as ongoing challenges.
Board members thanked Haft for the report and asked follow‑ups about phishing and AI. David Bush (attending virtually) said staff discipline following simulated phishing—short training modules—was effective. Board members also praised the department’s role in rolling out new security measures and improving connectivity ahead of state testing.
