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District outlines AI literacy plan and proposes $4.47M device refresh; board debates carts versus 1:1
Summary
Iredell‑Statesville staff described a phased AI literacy rollout (staff first, then students), approval of two classroom AI platforms and limited Google Gemini use for high school, and proposed refreshing middle/high school devices with Chromebooks (~$4.47M estimate); principals urged retaining 1:1 for equity and testing.
Jackie Parker and Kristen Goodwin briefed the board on district work to integrate generative AI into instruction and on plans to refresh student devices. Goodwin told the committee the district has developed AI guidelines and an AI literacy course for staff and high‑school students and has sent the guidelines to the district attorney for review. "AI, artificial intelligence, is just computers doing things that typically require human intelligence to do," Goodwin explained as she outlined training and rollout steps.
Goodwin said the district will keep AI unblocked for staff while requiring completion of AI literacy before a school’s students can use unblocked tools. The district has identified two educator‑designed tools (Magic School and SchoolAI) and said Google’s Gemini can be made available for high school within the district’s Google for Education instance that is managed with student‑privacy safeguards.
On devices, Jackie Parker presented a refresh plan for spring procurement that would aim to replace middle‑ and high‑school student devices for the 2026–27 school year. She said the earlier‑estimated cost for that refresh was about $4,470,000 (an estimate used in ADM calculations). "Our proposal is... in the spring, our hope is to refresh our middle school iPads with something else and our high school student devices with something else for ready to use next school year," Parker told the board.
Principals and assistant principals who provided written feedback and live remarks urged keeping a 1:1 device model for equity and instructional continuity, noting that students in AP, IB and college‑credit programs need reliable home access for coursework, testing and college applications. One assistant principal warned that a shift to shared carts would disadvantage students without home access and create logistical burdens for teachers. Technical staff and procurement leads recommended Chromebooks for manageability, testing compatibility and lower total cost of ownership; survey results cited by staff showed high teacher and student acceptance in pilots.
Board members discussed tradeoffs — budget constraints versus equity, testing requirements and device management — and asked administration to return with RFP specifications, durability testing results and a financing timeline that would spread cost over multiple years rather than obligating one lump payment.
The board did not vote on the device refresh that night; staff said they will issue an RFP, evaluate vendors and return with a purchase request for formal approval.
