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District updates cybersecurity and AI plans; Chromebook prices rising cited as a capital concern
Summary
The technology lead told the board the district has improved phishing defenses, automated account provisioning tied to Skyward, and is piloting AI tools in grades 6–12; trustees heard that Chromebook prices rose about 20% recently and the five‑year capital plan ties large purchases to fund 46.
At the March 18 meeting Franklin’s technology lead presented the annual technology update and an amended five‑year plan.
Miss Linsky described ongoing cybersecurity work, including network segmentation to limit intruders’ lateral access and a process to recall suspicious district emails. She said staff are educating users to identify phishing attempts and that tools now allow administrators to pull back suspect messages before they are acted on.
On accounts and operations, she reported streamlined provisioning tied to Skyward so student and staff accounts are created and deactivated automatically when enrollment or employment changes.
Miss Linsky also discussed district pilots in artificial intelligence for instructional use. A team of about 30 sixth‑through‑12th‑grade teachers has trialed classroom‑focused AI tools and will share results at an upcoming professional‑development showcase. "There's this thing out there called AI," she said, framing the pilot work in terms of intentional instructional use and safeguards to preserve student authorship.
Budget and capital planning were prominent topics. Miss Linsky said the five‑year technology plan was unchanged in substance but that the capital column was updated to extend the schedule through 2030–31 and that major capital purchases are typically moved into fund 46 to avoid fiscal-year cutoffs. She told trustees Chromebook unit costs have risen roughly 20% in recent months because of component shortages related to broader demand for AI hardware.
Trustees asked how fund 46 will be used, which items are tagged to it, and whether the district should remove the fund-46 label on some line items for public presentation; staff said tagging supports internal tracking and safeguards against spending pressure while allowing transfers when needed.
The board did not take final action on capital items at this meeting; staff will update the board packet to reflect corrected fund tags before next week's action vote.
