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Round Lake board approves online reseller for obsolete iPads, expands student buyback
Summary
Board approved a contract with reseller Second Life Mac to sell obsolete Apple devices and move the student buyback online; administrators said community members will receive a $50 exclusive coupon and the district will receive 3% of online sales; the change shifts logistics to a third-party storefront.
At its April 6 meeting the Round Lake Area Board of Education approved an agreement to sell obsolete district Apple devices and implement a student buyback program through the online reseller Second Life Mac.
Technology staff explained the district solicited multiple quotes and is proposing a resale model that will allow community access to an online storefront, expand buyback eligibility beyond fourth/eighth/twelfth graders, and return 3% of online-store sales to the district. Administrators said the change is driven in part by limited district staffing that has made in-house deployment and buyback processing burdensome.
The presenter explained expected values for devices: "The valuation on a ninth generation iPad grade A is $150. So... the grade C price for our student buyback would be $105," the administration said while describing the pricing model. Under the vendor's initial pricing for the district community the ninth-generation device, previously advertised at about $258, will be available to the district community for $208 after a $50 exclusive coupon; tax and shipping apply.
Administration said the online storefront uses credit-card processing only (no cash option) but includes a 30-day money-back guarantee and same-day FedEx shipping for orders placed before the cut-off. District staff also requested assurances that merchant fees would not be passed to consumers and that storefront branding and customer service would be coordinated with the district.
Board members discussed operational implications, including the loss of the in-house option that previously allowed families to buy back the exact device they used and the need to address 30-day returns, warranty and customer-service arrangements. Finance committee members said they had reviewed transaction- and storefront-related questions prior to the vote.
The board voted unanimously to approve the Second Life Mac agreement and the new buyback implementation plan; administrators said they will work with the vendor to tailor the storefront to district needs and return with implementation details.
Votes at a glance: motion to approve the Second Life Mac agreement passed on a unanimous roll-call vote.
