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East Rockaway technology director seeks funding for cybersecurity, Incident IQ and device refresh
Summary
Director of technology Bonnie Mlen outlined a proposed technology budget that funds a districtwide Incident IQ asset/ticketing system, a SOC cybersecurity partnership, licensing (Microsoft/Azure) and a multi-year Chromebook refresh to align warranty cycles and reduce repairs.
Bonnie Mlen, the district's director of technology, presented the technology department's proposed 2026–27 budget and described several investments intended to improve device reliability, security and help-desk responsiveness.
Mlen said the district recently implemented Incident IQ, a ticketing and asset-management platform adopted after an auditor recommendation. She said the system centralizes inventory and warranty information, allows teachers to submit and track help tickets, speeds repairs and automates loaner-device tracking. "It keeps it all in one place. It's able to show us where everything is across the district, warranties and shelf life and everything like that so we can make better informed decisions," she said.
On cybersecurity, Mlen described a partnership with a security-operations center (SOC) that provides weekday monitoring and incident response support. The SOC performs periodic assessments, reviews conditional-access policies and can lock accounts flagged for suspicious activity until staff review them.
The largest technology budget line is central data processing (licenses, cloud fees and staff). Mlen said increases are driven by salary-and-benefit adjustments for technicians and contracted engineering support obtained through BOCES, plus Microsoft/Azure licensing costs.
Mlen also proposed a revised Chromebook refresh cycle to move to four-year warranties by purchasing new devices for grades 5 and 9 and repurposing devices across grades during the transition. She said this approach reduces out-of-warranty repair costs and stabilizes replacement years. The technology director said the district trimmed planned workstation replacements from about 68 down to 25 after a needs assessment to prioritize power users.
Board members asked about user adaptation to Incident IQ and response time; Mlen said staff and teachers have given positive feedback and that the ticketing workflow has reduced repair response times.
Mlen and district staff noted industry-wide hardware-price pressure (chip shortages and state-contract changes) has driven procurement challenges and higher quotes for desktops, prompting prioritization of purchases.
The board will consider these technology budget proposals as part of the district's overall April 21 budget adoption.
