Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Technology Replacement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Peoria Unified seeks up to $5 million to replace aging teacher laptops and student desktops
Summary
District staff requested approval to increase cooperative contract spending and begin single‑year purchases to replace thousands of desktops and laptops; items are time‑sensitive because older desktops cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 and Microsoft Windows 10 support ends later in 2025.
Peoria — Peoria Unified asked the board Feb. 13 to authorize increased spending on cooperative technology contracts to replace aging staff and lab computers, citing device age, end‑of‑support timelines and an upcoming tariff/window for manufacturers.
What the district presented Technology staff said the replacement need comprises roughly 2,300 district laptops (mostly staff machines) that will be five to six years old at the time of replacement and about 2,650 desktops whose average age is eight to ten years. Many of the desktops cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 and must be replaced before October 2025 to avoid unsupported operating systems on student lab machines.
Procurement and budget The district proposed increasing authorized annual expenditures on existing cooperative contracts (CDW Government and Safari Micro among others) to allow immediate ordering; procurement staff noted a potential tariff increase for manufacturers if purchase orders are not issued promptly. Administration said budget authority exists in the FY25 capital/carryforward plans and expects the purchase to come in under earlier estimates if orders go out before the tariff change.
Board reaction Board members asked about priorities (staff vs. student devices) and urged the district to explore grants and external funding sources as an alternative to bond spending. A public commenter (a classroom teacher) urged the district to consider classroom projectors, Wi‑Fi reliability and peripheral items alongside laptops and desktops.
Next steps If the board approves the cooperative spending increase, the district said it will place orders immediately and begin an equipment replacement schedule. Staff said they will return with implementation details and any options for students in subsequent procurement and replacement cycles.
Ending Administrators emphasized the time sensitivity: desktop replacements are necessary by fall 2025 to avoid unsupported operating systems in school labs.
