TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATIVE PRACTICES Investing in New Technology:


Strategies to Stretch the Tech Budget Find the financial sweet spot for refreshing your district technology. By David Smith, Peter Liesenfeld, and Mark Rand


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chools can no longer postpone purchasing or updating technology until they have the extra money in their budgets. Instead, planning for device upgrades is part of everyday budget dis-


cussions in many districts.


The technology life cycle averages three to five years for most districts, so school leaders need to plan for their next upgrade while timing the market to get a maximum return on their investment.


Proactive, Intentional Planning


California’s Tustin Unified School District enrolls nearly 23,000 students in its 29 schools. The district has imple- mented a 1:1 approach for several years, but it wasn’t until the end of its first five-year phase that the district


12 MAY 2022 | SCHOOL BUSINESS AFFAIRS


began to consider how to recover some of its initial tech- nology investment.


A buyback program that only offered credit toward future purchases wasn’t good enough; district leaders also wanted more than a bulk recycling program that paid on the basis of weight. They were concerned that the bond used to make the initial technology investment included limitations on how proceeds could be allocated. With more research, the district learned that having technology professionals manage the buyback offered expertise and resources that districts don’t have on their own. Good technology services are like good servers in a restaurant: close enough to know when you need them and out of sight otherwise. Tustin uses the same professional service to help it time its second buyback. The service regularly emails


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