Avon council approves $822,120 lease-purchase for school Apple Neos

The Avon Town Council on June 25 approved a resolution authorizing a lease-purchase agreement with Apple Inc., in an amount not to exceed $822,120, to acquire computer equipment for the Board of Education. Tom Kline, the town’s Director of Information Technology, told the council the plan covers roughly 1,000 Apple Neo devices — about 940 for high-school students plus spares and 140 for staff — under a four-year lease-and-buyback model.

Kline said the district’s four-year lease model, followed by a guaranteed Apple buyback, produced nearly $1 million in savings in the town’s financial models compared with prior Chromebook and Windows replacement strategies. "The plan is to purchase 1,000 Apple Neos for students at the high school for approximately 940 students and will have spares for breaks/fixes and enrollment changes and 140 for staff;" he said. Kline added the devices will still use school Google accounts and that Apple provided staff training through an education team.

Council members pressed on device management and logistics, asking about K–8 device models, staff device compatibility, accidental damage insurance and timing. Kline said the town will purchase AppleCare Plus for schools to cover damage (with two incidents covered per year over the four-year term) and that K–2 will return to a shared-device model while high school students will remain 1:1. He said the order would be placed the next day with the town hoping to receive devices by August 15.

On a motion by Ms. Ausiello, seconded by Mrs. Barthel, the Council approved the resolution authorizing execution of Payment Schedule No. 20000051356 to finance the acquisition (not to exceed $822,120). Mmes. Ausiello, Barthel, Bratton and Mr. Polhamus voted in favor.