School committee approves five‑year technology equipment lease plan totaling about $389,000 for FY26

The Portsmouth School Committee unanimously approved the district’s five‑year technology equipment plan for fiscal year 2026 on March 11. Committee members voted 7–0 to accept a municipal lease that will fund device replacements, network equipment and copiers; lease payments will be reflected in the operating budget.

District technology staff presented an overview of planned purchases and the lease structure. The FY26 lease request totaled approximately $388,752.67. The plan includes replacement of aging MacBooks and iPads, interactive TVs for elementary classrooms, 400 Chromebooks for incoming third- and ninth-grade cohorts, Chromebooks insurance ($12 per device), copier replacements and network access-point upgrades at the middle school to support testing. Staff noted that E‑rate reimbursements were not available this year for parts of the plan and that some network purchases were timed to minimize loss of federal discounts.

Technology staff described the district’s approach to device lifecycle management: replacing devices in stages so equipment can be redistributed across grade levels, and purchasing accidental insurance rather than maintaining large spares. The district also described plans to deploy secure printing tools with badge release in July to reduce unnecessary copies and track printing costs.

Committee discussion praised the technology team's work and noted the district’s long record of enterprise-level technology use. The motion to approve the plan passed unanimously, and staff will move forward with leasing arrangements and schedule the lease payments in the operating budget.