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Peninsula board approves $4.8 million Apple lease-to-own for student devices
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Summary
The Peninsula School District board voted April 21 to approve an Apple Financial Services lease-to-own package for district devices, a $4.8 million procurement to equip students in grades 1–12; the CFO said the 1.7% lease rate makes borrowing preferable to paying cash now, and staff outlined a fall rollout and training plan.
The Peninsula School District Board of Directors on April 21 approved an Apple Financial Services lease-to-own package to equip students in grades 1–12 with new Apple devices, with a lump-sum purchase price discussed at $4,800,000 and payments structured over four years.
Ashley Murphy, the district’s chief financial officer, told the board Apple Finance offered a 1.7% lease option and recommended the lease because the district expects to earn more holding its fund balance in a local government investment pool than it would pay in interest on the lease. "Apple Finance came forward with a package deal offering us a 1.7% lease option," Murphy said. "The district has the funds to purchase lump sum $4,800,000 on all devices. The reason why I am recommending that we do not do that is $4,800,000 sitting in a savings account ... will earn us more interest dollars than what we would be paying out at a 1.7% interest rate." (Ashley Murphy, CFO.)
Murphy said the recommended financing is structured like "lease to own," with approximately four annual payments (the presentation used $1,100,000 per year as the expected payment schedule) and no prepayment penalty if the district decided to pay the balance earlier.
District staff said the plan calls for collecting and returning existing devices at the end of the current school year, negotiating resale of those devices to recoup some funds, and rolling out the new devices to students in fall. Digital innovation leads in each building will work with staff on training; the district also plans to bring in trainers from Apple to support teacher readiness. A district staff member described negotiations and the planned timeline: "We are planning to have all of the devices come back ... We're actually negotiating right now on resell of those devices to make some of the money back. We will roll out the new devices to all students next fall." (Staff member, Digital.)
Board director David moved to approve the Apple Financial Services lease document and the accompanying resolution; the motion was seconded by Matt and carried on a voice vote. The board approved the related resolution (26-03) authorizing the financing as nonvoted debt to be paid from the general fund.
What happens next: staff will finalize the lease paperwork and proceed with device procurement and training plans ahead of the fall rollout. The board did not record a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript; approval was announced by voice vote.
Notes: The board previously discussed device procurement and financing options in past meetings; the CFO included the purchase in the March budget presentation and emphasized the district’s favorable audit and fund-balance position during the discussion. "We passed with flying colors, no concerns noted whatsoever" from the state audit, Murphy said during the budget update (Ashley Murphy).
