Southington plans limited, teacher‑supervised AI tools and budgets software line increase

The Southington Board of Education spent part of its budget workshop weighing how to introduce generative artificial intelligence into classrooms while limiting risk and future costs. Mrs. Savakal, the district technology/curriculum staffer, told the board the district began staff education on generative AI in 2024 and has convened teacher committees to evaluate safe platforms. "We have a committee of teachers. We have 12 secondary teachers, and 8 elementary teachers that are looking at what is a, the safest, platforms where we can start to expose students to, potential uses of AI," she said.

Administration identified two tools the district has prioritized so far — Brisk and Magic School AI — and emphasized they would be used in closed environments where teachers can see student prompts or where activity is tracked in Google Docs. "One of the tools...tells them the only thing this can do is help you rewrite. It won't write from scratch," Mrs. Savakal said, adding that Google Docs embedding can alert teachers if a student pasted large AI‑generated blocks. She cautioned that current AI‑detection tools are unreliable: "ChatGPT had one and they discontinued it because their own tool was so unreliable for detecting its own AI input." The district said it will focus on teaching students appropriate use and on assessing thinking and process as much as final products.

Board members questioned whether the software budget increase reflects a recurring cost. Mr. Curry asked if a $32,724 increase in the school‑based software line is one‑time or will grow annually. Administration replied that many software agreements run three to five years and that typical annual increases are roughly 3 percent; they will monitor usage and renewals before committing to long‑term renewals.

The administration said professional development costs are not included in the software line item yet; Mrs. Savakal said the number in the school software budget is "just for the tool" and that she and the teacher committee are working on rollout and professional development plans. The board asked for tracking of usage and explicit PD plans before larger multi‑year commitments.

The board is expected to continue discussion at the next budget meeting and to include any finalized software commitments in the adopted budget that will be submitted to the town manager in early February.