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District projects $170,000 savings after streamlining instructional materials; staff plan cautious AI training
Summary
Dr. Sarah Adams told the board the district consolidated vendors, adopted K–5 ELA materials and projects roughly $170,000 in combined print and technology savings; she said the district will prioritize implementation and staff training for future AI tools.
Dr. Sarah Adams, the district’s instructional resources lead, told the Monroe County School Board on May 5 that recent adoptions and vendor consolidations position the district to maintain or expand instructional offerings while holding costs steady.
“We are in a good position, and we will be able to not only provide high quality instructional materials, but to move beyond what we’ve been providing,” Dr. Adams said, reporting a projected $170,000 in savings across print-material and technology budgets and a 36% vendor reduction that removed 19 vendors from the district’s footprint.
Adams said the district adopted a K–5 English language arts program (Benchmark), will take a gap year on 6–12 ELA adoptions because it has usable adopted material on hand, and has purchased some multi‑year licenses (she cited Quaver Music as a state‑contract example) to reduce recurring costs.
Her presentation described investments in library nonfiction and science collections, expanded professional development funding tied to adoptions, and a focus on implementation capacity. On instructional technology, Adams said the district eliminated several platforms and is using savings to support longer‑term purchases and implementation support rather than buy new major systems.
Asked how the district plans to use artificial intelligence, Adams said the initial focus is on staff: “We’ve got a small focus group of staff members that are working on how can teachers leverage it first…to improve their own efficiency,” adding the district will study possible student-facing deployment but proceed cautiously.
Board members asked about teacher devices and the quality of hardware; Adams said she has heard mixed feedback but no data that would yet justify wholesale device replacement and that issues are being discussed in curriculum team meetings.
Next steps: staff will continue implementation work tied to the adopted materials and report back as adoption timelines and multi‑year procurements move forward.
