Wayne-Westland board approves Chromebooks purchase and $315,000 cellular booster contract

The Wayne-Westland Community School District board voted unanimously to buy 1,194 Chromebooks and 14 charging carts for elementary and middle schools and to award a $315,000 contract to install cellular signal boosters in seven district buildings.

The board approved the technology purchases after a finance committee presentation that said the Chromebooks will be delivered preconfigured. Jewel Claire, presenting the recommendation, said $106,823.10 of the purchase would be charged to Title I funds and $251,210.70 to Title II funds. The boosters contract to Moss will be paid from the district sinking fund, the board was told.

The purchases drew several operational questions from trustees. Trustee Jennifer Curry asked whether the district is effectively one-to-one; the technology lead replied that high school students generally take devices home while most elementary and middle school Chromebooks remain in the building. The elementary purchases were described as touchscreen units to better serve younger learners.

Trustee Fred Cox raised a policy concern about increasing cellular coverage while districts are debating student phone rules: “Do we wanna spend $315,000 to exacerbate our problem?” The administration answered that boosters advance safety and continuity of communications during outages and storms, and that work will begin at buildings with the worst reception. The seven buildings named for boosters were John Glenn High School, Wayne Memorial High School, Adams Middle, Franklin Middle, Stevenson Middle, William D. Ford Career Technical Center and Wayne-Westland Innovative Academy.

The motions passed on separate roll calls, each with a 7-0 tally (Cox, Ambrose, Abney Mitchell, Weaver, Hines, Rochon and President May voting yes). The board was told the Chromebook units are expected to last five years and that the district intends to keep elementary and middle devices in the buildings to reduce breakage.

Board members and staff said the district used competitive bidding for boosters and confirmed labor was included in the Moss bid. Administrators also said boosters would be covered more broadly by items planned in an upcoming bond if additional sites need work.

The approvals come after the finance committee reported a higher-than-expected district investment balance and noted that the Chromebook purchases are fully grant-funded, not charged to general fund dollars. Questions about device return when students leave the district were answered: high school-issued Chromebooks are generally retained by students through graduation unless a student transfers out, in which case the device is collected.

Officials said the district will stagger installations and equipment delivery to minimize disruption.