St. Mary Parish technology committee reviews $1.4M fund, laptop refresh and E‑Rate status

Caleb, the district’s technology staff member, told the St. Mary Parish School Board technology committee the technology fund stood at "1,400,000" as of the last budget, with most of that amount allocated to salaries and benefits. "About 650,000 is the laptop initiative," he said, adding the department had "about $250,000 for software" and "a 150,000 for materials." Caleb said other smaller line items cover travel, mileage and auditing.

The committee heard the district still participates in the federal E‑Rate program. Caleb explained E‑Rate has two categories: category 1 pays for internet circuits and category 2 pays for network equipment such as switches and access points. He reported "about, I wanna say a 127,000 left" in the current five‑year E‑Rate cycle and said the district expects a new E‑Rate allocation when the next cycle refreshes for the 2025–26 school year.

Caleb warned that if the district lacked replenished general‑fund support, "it would stop some of the initiatives that we're going to do, like the laptops," and said device refreshes would be delayed without additional funding. A finance staff member told the committee the annual audit is wrapping up and that staff may recommend transfers or adjustments in January; that staff noted technology currently relies on general‑fund transfers rather than a dedicated revenue source.

On procurement and lifecycle planning, Caleb said the district bought roughly 1,300 new Dell laptops last year for incoming 9th and 10th graders and plans to buy devices for each incoming 9th grade going forward so a student keeps the same laptop through high school (a roughly four‑ to five‑year refresh cycle). He said the district purchased higher‑spec machines to support more demanding coursework and to extend usable life.

Caleb described recent E‑Rate spending that bought a new firewall and network upgrades at Franklin Junior High, and he said E‑Rate purchases funded wiring and new infrastructure for the Franklin High/Junior transition so mounted classroom equipment will be new.

The committee also received an inventory and staffing update. Caleb reported the district inventory numbers as spoken in the meeting (the transcript recorded them as “88100” devices in the district and “75100” used by students) and noted "roughly 2,000 Apple devices, which are mainly iPads." He said the technology team includes eight technicians who cover clusters of schools (about one technician for every three to four schools, with additional coverage at major high schools).

Caleb said consumables such as screens, chargers and batteries were the department’s largest material costs and that the $150,000 materials line is used to replenish those items as needs arise.

The committee took no formal fiscal action at the meeting. Mr. Mancuso moved to adjourn at the close of discussion; Miss Jones seconded and the meeting ended. The committee set the next policy committee meeting to start at 6:10 p.m.