Tolleson IT staff outline day‑one readiness: 3,200 laptops, POS upgrades, cameras and security testing

Johnny, a member of the district technology staff, told the Tolleson Union High School District Governing Board that the department completed multiple major readiness items for the start of the school year, including student devices, point‑of‑sale upgrades, bus‑route tools and network security testing.

“It’s important because 5,800 students drive our buses every day,” Johnny said while describing the transportation applications and bus route information the department deploys for parents to find pickup and drop‑off locations.

The technology presentation summarized work across several operational areas. The department said it upgraded 72 point‑of‑sale computers used by food and nutrition services and that the new POS systems support roughly 10,000 daily transactions. Staff reported deploying 3,200 laptops to incoming freshmen this year and supporting about 16,000 laptops and computer devices districtwide. The department also reported a district‑wide migration to SharePoint that the presenter described as “100% complete on the district side.”

Johnny described security and monitoring improvements, saying security cameras and bathroom sensors are calibrated and routed to each school’s dispatch center. He also said the district has coordinated network penetration testing with its insurer, TheTrust, and that ‘‘we've passed all penetration testing for five consecutive years.'’ The department also runs quarterly, unannounced phishing simulations and requires short training for employees who fail them, the presenter said.

Staffing and internships were a large part of the presentation. Johnny introduced more than two dozen technology team members and listed years of service and prior employers for many technicians. He said two desk help‑desk staff handled about 1,400 calls across July and August, with roughly 390 of those calls from parents. The presenter also described a Career and Technical Education (CTE) internship partnership that brings four to five senior students into the department each year; he said at least one intern had later been hired.

Board members and meeting participants praised the team. Michael Connor, a district teacher, said the technology investments have changed classroom practice, enabling frequent standard‑based assessments and remote access during the pandemic. ‘‘All this has made possible because of the bond or override,’’ Connor said.

The presentation also noted new technology initiatives coming online. The superintendent reported the district recently completed a handoff of Dreamscape virtual reality labs and expects students to rotate through VR labs in the second semester; staff training is underway. The district also described coordination with contractors for a new warehouse and cafeteria to ensure network drops, intercoms and cameras are planned for construction.

The board did not take formal action on the presentation; it was provided as an informational update and will inform future operational planning.

For the public, the presenter emphasized the day‑one priorities: transportation routing, food‑service POS readiness, classroom tech in roughly 610 classrooms, and security systems. The district supplied counts and staffing totals during the presentation to illustrate scale and readiness.