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District technology director outlines device policy changes, cybersecurity and E‑rate projects
Summary
The district technology director briefed the board on 1:1 Chromebook cycles, proposed take-home changes for middle grades, cyber insurance, device-repair insurance and E‑rate funded network upgrades.
The North Platte Public Schools technology director described the district’s device inventory, cybersecurity posture and planned device-policy changes at the Committee of the Whole meeting on May 29.
Technology director Bridal Tegmeier said the district has been one-to-one with Chromebooks since 2020 and maintains device replacement cycles: a five‑year replacement cycle at elementary, a four‑year cycle for devices issued in fifth grade, and a device issued at ninth grade intended to last through a student’s high‑school career. This spring the district purchased Chromebooks for only fifth- and ninth-grade cohorts after redeploying devices to extend life and save funds.
Key operational shifts announced: beginning next school year, students in grades 6–8 will keep district Chromebooks at school (devices stored and charged in locked carts) while students in grades 9–12 will continue to take devices home. The change aims to reduce damage and loss; Tegmeier reported a dramatic drop this year in units needing replacement compared with prior years.
Tegmeier also reviewed staff-device allocations (MacBooks for teaching staff and administrators), the district’s inventory of specialized computer labs and peripherals, and an option for parents to purchase device-insurance ($10 per student per year) to offset repair costs.
On cybersecurity, the technology director said the district recently upgraded Google Workspace administration controls, implemented two-factor authentication for staff accounts, and lowered cyber-insurance premium costs from about $22,000 to $15,000 annually by raising the deductible. Tegmeier described layered protections (firewalls, backups, endpoint controls) and noted the district’s data-reporting and audit processes.
Tegmeier reviewed E‑rate funding outcomes that allowed recent network and cabling upgrades for several buildings and described numbers of supported devices (about 466 security cameras districtwide, more than 600 IP phones and dozens of managed switches).
Board members asked about support for students who do not have computers at home and whether the district can track device usage time. Tegmeier said students can check out devices for temporary home use and that the district can see logins per day but currently lacks a system-wide measure of minutes spent in specific applications; some third-party tools could provide that capability if the board chose to fund them.
Board members discussed practical impacts of the middle-grade change and asked that principals ensure students who need a home device for missed work have checkout options.
