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Haddonfield board reviews Chromebook recycling plan to close a budget gap
Summary
District staff outlined a multi-year plan to limit Chromebook purchases by reallocating devices across grades, issuing higher-end devices selectively, and collecting seniors' devices for resale, a strategy presented as returning procurement to budgeted levels amid rising prices.
District technology staff told the board they have a two-year plan to reduce Chromebook purchases and return procurement to the district’s budget amid rising device prices.
John Miller presented pricing data and a recycling strategy: supply higher-end, convertible devices to select grades (fifth and ninth), keep clamshell Chromebooks for lower grades, and recycle fifth-grade devices back to third grade. The approach is intended to reduce new purchases by roughly 200 units this year, which administrators said would restore the technology budget to its planned amount.
Miller told the board that a recent vendor quote had risen compared with November and that the district moved from a projected $350,000 to a revised quote of $476,000 in one set of documents. He said the district is trying to bridge that increase by reusing existing devices and by recovering funds when seniors return devices for resale. Officials estimated resale/recovery could bring between about $6,000 and $12,000, figures described in the meeting as approximate.
Board members discussed device durability, whether middle-school students could manage higher-end devices, and logistics for collecting seniors’ devices. Administrators said they would coordinate with high school staff to retrieve devices that are unused at students’ homes and that IT staff would reserve a portion of older devices for parts and classroom carts.
No formal procurement decision or vote was recorded at the meeting; staff said they would implement the steps described this year to remain within the budget and report back as needed.
