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Technology staff asks for $187,000 more as software costs surge; cybersecurity alert contained
Summary
District technology staff asked for an additional $187,000 in FY27, blaming rising software renewals and vendor pricing; staff also described a CISA-notified cybersecurity incident traced to student devices on the guest network that was contained with no impact to internal systems.
Paul, the district’s technology lead, told the board the technology department is requesting an additional $187,000 for FY27, saying about 45% of the increase is due to higher software costs tied to the district’s growing student population. “Everything just keeps going up and up and up,” he said, adding that many line items are fixed by vendor contracts or recurring services.
Paul gave a line-item breakdown: software renewals rose about 13.4% in one category and account for roughly one-quarter of his budget; technical services such as the student information system are tied to per-student licensing; and equipment costs have jumped—for example, a server spec that formerly cost about $12,000–$15,000 was quoted at $22,000. He said the department pre-purchased Chromebooks last year, which allowed a $75,000 reduction in this year’s budget, but continued one-to-one device commitments will require roughly $150,000 next year to replace aging devices for third and eighth grades.
On cybersecurity, Paul said the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) alerted the district to malicious “command-and-control” traffic originating from devices on the public guest network. Within minutes, district staff used tools and outside information-sharing services to determine the traffic came from student-owned devices on the guest network and not from the internal network. “It was contained. It wasn’t actually a threat to our infrastructure,” Paul said, noting the quick response prevented escalation and that the district benefits from multi-state information-sharing services for cybersecurity.
Board members asked how the district decides which software to renew. Paul said he compiles a usage list before the budget process and works with Mike Crowley and school stakeholders to remove underused subscriptions. He and other staff emphasized the recent adoption of Clever single sign-on and analytics and PowerSchool usage reports as tools that let them track real-time usage and reduce redundant purchases.
The technology request is part of the FY27 budget packet the district will continue to refine; no vote on the technology appropriation was recorded at the meeting. The committee adjourned at the end of the session.
