Board approves four-year device lease, district to reset staff computers

Windsor Unified trustees voted May 15 to approve a four‑year lease to replace staff laptops and standardize technology across the district, part of a larger update from the district’s technology team.

The roll-call vote approved the lease recommendation after the director of technology outlined district IT work this year: a new district ticketing system, centralized documentation, interactive flat-panel installations at Cali campuses, a plan to standardize classroom networking, and a proposal to issue MacBook Airs and higher‑spec Windows machines for staff. The director said the recommended four‑year Apple lease carries 0 percent interest, includes an accidental‑damage/repair program and a guaranteed buyback that helps offset replacement costs.

Nut graf: Trustees characterized the approval as a budgeted opportunity to reset aging staff devices and reduce long-term support costs; the district said the initiative establishes a predictable annual budget and better repair/replace processes but will not address student devices in this package.

District IT presented numbers: the proposed staff-device program is estimated at roughly $250,000 a year (about $1 million across four years) for the leased staff computers, with details to follow about a Windows parallel for business‑side staff. IT staff also said Windows 10 end-of-support in October 2025 makes replacement urgent for some older office machines.

Trustees and staff discussed warranty and repair logistics: the lease includes repair coverage, spares (10 percent overage) to keep teachers working while units are serviced, and a process to ensure data is preserved or synced to cloud accounts before swaps. The technology presentation also covered cybersecurity and longer‑term data‑center upgrades that will require separate funding.

Ending: The board approved the lease; district staff said they will return with vendor details, implementation timelines and a companion plan for Windows users in a follow-up report.