District gets $133,000 NIPSCO rebate; summer feeding extended and iPad case problems reported
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Summary
Business operations reported a $133,000 rebate tied to LED upgrades, a federal extension to continue the summer feeding program for four more years, and ongoing failures in recently replaced iPad cases with Apple and the case vendor investigating replacements or alternative devices.
Tri‑Creek School Corporation business operations staff told the board the district will receive a $133,000 rebate from NIPSCO tied to LED upgrade projects, that the summer feeding program has been extended for four more years, and that technology staff are addressing quality issues with recently purchased iPad cases.
Unidentified Speaker 7 said the NIPSCO payment is for LED upgrade rebate work performed by the district and its contractor. "This is coming in for LED upgrade projects," he said and confirmed the rebate amount as $133,000. He also described the summer feeding program's success last year, noting the district served 29,202 breakfasts and lunches and submitted a $247,000 federal claim that helped produce approximately $116,000 in food service profit that avoided a planned meal price increase.
On technology, staff said the district replaced roughly 2,200 iPad cases; since the start of the year they have seen about 80 failures, including intermittent rapid battery drain and keyboard case malfunctions. Staff told the board they have escalated the issue with the case company and with Apple; options on the table include replacement of cases, refunds, or switching device types (Chromebooks or laptops). "Apple has made it clear that they are looking at every option on the table for us, including complete replacement of those cases," staff said.
The board approved several related action items by voice vote during the meeting, including declaring outdated technology equipment as surplus and awarding E‑Rate Category 2 equipment bids to vendors listed in the agenda.