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Lake Oswego SD 7J board approves $50 device-protection fee after discussion of costs and equity
Summary
The board approved an updated optional student device-protection program for 2025–26, raising the basic fee from $40 to $50, expanding waivers for qualifying families, and directing staff to monitor outcomes and return with adjustments as needed.
The Lake Oswego School District 7J board voted to approve the administration’s recommended student technology device protection and damage-fee program for the 2025–26 school year, raising the optional basic protection fee from $40 to $50 and maintaining expanded fee waivers for families who meet the district’s free/reduced threshold.
Administrators presented financial and operational reasons for the change. “Our tech device program as a whole lost almost $160,000 last year, and that's more than a full time teacher,” Mr. Miller, the district’s director of computer network services, told the board. He described a roughly $2.5 million inventory of district devices and an average repair cost of about $400 per incident. The packet said the district will use new software to require unpaid tech fees be settled before enrollment in optional, fee-based extracurricular activities.
Board members debated equity and incentives. Director Lupton, who moved the motion, said the measure is an evolving solution and favored a one-year implementation with monitoring. Some trustees raised concerns that families who purchase protection would indirectly subsidize those who do not; others emphasized the district’s goal of preserving general-fund dollars for instruction rather than device repairs. The motion passed by voice vote.
