District technology staff told the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District board during a budget workshop that the district’s device inventory and purchasing choices could materially affect the operating budget.

Mr. Hunt, a district presenter on technology, told board members the district has roughly 7,100 Chromebooks tied to students while current enrollment is about 4,100, yielding about 1.73 devices per student. Mr. Hunt said a refresh plan could drop total student devices closer to 4,900 over a replacement cycle while retaining spares for repairs and classroom sets.

Mr. Hunt explained Chromebooks are less expensive and act as “Internet tablets” that rely on cloud services such as Google Workspace, whereas some staff and CTE courses require full Microsoft Office functionality or local software that may demand laptops. Mr. Hunt estimated savings of between about $40,000 and $90,000 depending on device choices and suggested district staff would need some laptops for specialized uses.

Board members and staff asked practical questions about compatibility and operations. Staff said many teachers already use Google Classroom and Google Suite. Concerns were raised about:
- Staff and special-education printing needs: administrators said current printing accounting and subnet configurations do not yet support Chromebook-based job accounting in all locations; implementing policy-based printing or reconfiguring networks would require additional work.
- Access to Microsoft Office features: presenters said some CTE and higher-education requirements mean specific staff will still need laptops with Microsoft Excel or other desktop software; the district maintains laptop labs for courses that require full Office features or specialized software.
- Transition to Chromebooks for staff: board members noted higher-education institutions often require full laptops, and one member urged the district to preserve access to laptops or labs for students who will move to college.

Outcome: staff described this as an options discussion. No procurement or device-policy vote was taken; staff said device strategy choices would be reflected in budget scenarios and brought back as recommendations for board action if needed.