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Patchogue‑Medford staff warn vendor renewals, server fees and device replacements will push technology costs higher
Summary
District IT staff said vendor renewals for virtual servers rose sharply after an acquisition, contributing to $49,000 in increased hosting costs; the district also outlined a multi‑year student‑device replacement plan costing roughly $700,000 and confirmed K–1 iPads and planned second‑grade iPad expansion.
District staff told the board that technology and hosting costs are a key driver of the draft budget and that replacing aging teacher and student devices will be phased over the next two years.
Mr. Rich explained the vendor issue: “VMware … was purchased by Broadcom,” he said, and the district received a renewal reflecting higher fees. “They came in and they jacked up the price,” Mr. Rich said, adding that while the district is “constantly looking” for alternatives, VMware remains an industry standard for virtual-server hosting and there is no clear replacement that staff would feel comfortable switching to immediately.
The presenter and IT staff said the district has recorded a $49,000 increase for the data‑processing/virtual-server line and a $34,000 increase for contractual services tied to security integration and maintenance. They also presented a student‑device replacement plan that accounts for roughly $700,000 for student devices and additional costs for teacher laptops; the district said it will phase replacements over two years and use grant money and other sources where possible.
On classroom devices, staff confirmed kindergarten and grade‑1 classrooms already use iPads and reported only one broken iPad in kindergarten‑1 this year; they plan to deploy iPads with keyboards to second grade next year and keep those devices in the classroom, while laptops will continue in grades 3–12 to support state testing and typing requirements.
No procurement decisions were finalized at the workshop; staff said they will continue to seek alternatives for hosting services and evaluate device-replacement timing as part of the broader budget process.
