Waterford board approves contracts to update 915 lab desktops, servers and Chromebooks

The Waterford School District Board of Education voted 6-0 to award contracts to update classroom and lab technology, including 915 Dell lab desktop machines, 20 Dell Pro workstations for digital art labs, a 350-device Chromebook refresh, 50 HP classroom Chromebooks for Pierce Middle School and replacement of 15 servers used for state assessments.

District staff described the purchases as part of the bond project plan and said vendor pricing could change quickly. “Tech companies ... are really adhering to a 30 day quote,” Mrs. Kochie, the district presenter for the item, said, adding that a conservative estimate of a possible price increase is 15 percent.

The board approved awarding under the REMC bid to People Driven Technology for $872,851.50 and to CDW G for $23,175, with the purchases covered by bond funds where appropriate and other purchases from the general fund as noted in the packet. The motion was moved by Treasurer Donahue and carried, 6-0.

Why it matters: the devices and servers named in the motion are used for instruction and state assessments. Staff told trustees the district’s current lab fleet totals roughly 1,500 machines; the plan replaces fewer machines (915 desktops) as a cost-control measure while keeping sufficient capacity for instruction and testing conditions.

Details and implementation: staff said Pierce Middle School currently has two lab spaces formed from classroom conversions; the district plans to install Chromebook carts in those two rooms to preserve instructional flexibility while maintaining assessment capacity, and to consolidate dedicated desktops into a main lab. The district also plans three-year extended warranties on most devices and seven-year warranties on servers because of their role in running assessment systems.

Board discussion was brief but included a caution from Member Patricia about the sequence of presenting information and immediately voting. “This is what we just heard about, what we're purchasing. This is the information. Now we're voting on it. I don't like doing that,” Patricia said. Mrs. Kochie responded that the timing reflected constraints in vendor quoting.

Next steps: staff said the server replacements are planned for installation this summer to ensure readiness for the next state assessment cycle.

Motion: Superintendent’s recommendation 57-24-25; award REMC bid to People Driven Technology ($872,851.50) and CDW G ($23,175); outcome approved 6-0.