Wayzata technology director outlines device cycles, security upgrades and 170‑classroom AV project

Wade Phillips, the district's technology director, told the Wayzata Public Schools board at its April 29 work session that the technology department is focused on maintaining device replacement cycles, strengthening cybersecurity and upgrading classroom technology across the district.

Phillips said the district funds technology work through two voter‑approved technology levies and uses that money for student devices, staff computers, instructional software, interactive classroom equipment and technology support staff. "We are supported, by the community and by voters through 2 technology levies in the district," he said.

The presentation described several major, ongoing projects. Phillips said the district maintains multi‑year replacement cycles: certified staff laptops are on roughly a four‑year cycle and student iPads on roughly a three‑year cycle. He told the board the district owns about 12,500 iPads and replaces roughly 3,500 devices a year so graduating seniors leave with devices about three years old.

Phillips outlined a 170‑classroom audiovisual and classroom‑standard upgrade this year intended to provide consistent video, visuals, audio and voice‑amplification systems across rooms. He said the district also plans a certified‑staff laptop refresh that was brought to the board earlier in April.

The technology portfolio and project management snapshot Phillips showed lists roughly 51 active projects and thousands of tasks. He said the department recorded about 10,276 tasks in the 2024–25 year, with 9,450 completed and 35 overdue at the time of the presentation. Help‑desk volume from July through March ran about 22,000 tickets; average first response was about nine hours and typical resolution about two days, with a 98% satisfaction rating on returned surveys.

On cybersecurity and physical security, Phillips said the district has maintained a formal information‑security program since 2018 and conducts an annual assessment that combines administrative, physical and technical controls. "We can't eliminate risk, we can't remove it fully, we can identify it, and we can reduce it," he told the board when summarizing the latest assessment.

Phillips said the district completed a tabletop incident‑response exercise this year (an exercise simulating a malicious email leading to escalating compromise) and noted new state legislation, enacted in December 2024, requiring school districts to report major cybersecurity incidents to state authorities within 72 hours. He said Wayzata had not had to use that reporting requirement but that the district had the rule "on our radar."

He also described a forthcoming instructional data platform, Aubrey, that will consolidate disparate systems (student information, learning management, assessment data) into a single visualization and analytics environment to support MTSS work and other student supports.

Phillips gave a brief budget context: earlier infrastructure refresh cycles (in 2012–15) cost around $300,000 in then‑dollars, and a comparable update today could be about $2.5 million. He said physical‑security camera replacement is now beginning after a roughly ten‑year replacement cycle and that not all security funding comes from the technology levy (some comes from capital funds and safe‑schools dollars).

Phillips closed by describing staff capacity — a relatively small team supporting about 12,900 students, roughly 2,500 staff and thousands of parent or community users — and invited questions from the board.

Ending: Board members followed with questions about classroom use of devices, options for families who prefer paper, student internships in tech support and the district's process for balancing device types (iPad vs. laptops). Phillips and other district staff said they would continue to report details to committees and bring specifics back as projects advance.