William Penn SD plans districtwide device refresh ahead of Windows 11 deadline

Mister Deans told the board the district faces a mandatory migration of Windows machines to Windows 11 by the end of calendar 2026 and proposed a multi‑year, budget‑neutral refresh focusing first on devices older than four years. “We have to do that by the 2026,” he said, adding that older hardware — some as old as 2012 — will not support the upgrade.

Deans described a hybrid approach to limit costs: stationary staff roles would receive mini desktop replacements while mobile roles would receive laptops. He told the board the district will present formal numbers before purchasing begins. “So what I will do, Miss Hoff, is I will bring back more formal numbers before we start the process so that everybody knows what we will be expensing,” he said.

Board members pressed for details. Miss Hoff asked for a budget number; Deans said staff is exploring multiple procurement pathways and will provide precise estimates in the coming budget presentations. Miss Ivory asked whether the district would reassess platforms (Apple, Chromebooks, Dell). Deans said the district will work with the DCIU, which helped develop a prior 10‑year technology audit, and will evaluate which devices best support current programs and trends.

The presentation included inventory details reported by staff: the district reported roughly 636 devices in use and stated that about 343 are at or near end‑of‑life; Deans noted a majority of staff machines are Dell and that some devices date to 2012. Staff said the refresh can be managed with resources in the existing adopted budget but will return with a formal refresh schedule and clearer line‑item costs.

Next steps: staff will provide a detailed cost estimate, a refresh schedule showing annual replacements and the proposed device types by role, and the implications for student devices.