Scranton SD to pilot allowing secondary students to keep Chromebooks over summer as board weighs insurance and budget options

Doctor Keating proposed letting secondary students keep assigned Chromebooks through the summer this coming year, saying the change would "allow them to keep their device" and help preserve connectivity for many low-income students. He told the board this is the first year the district would permit students to retain devices over the break.

The proposal prompted detailed questions from board members about loss, lifecycle management and cost. Doctor Keating described an insurance option district staff had reviewed: "If the district was divided in bulk, it reduces to $23 a device covering 94 100 devices. We would be $216,200," staff said while presenting a vendor quote and financing scenarios. Staff also noted the district already has $176,000 budgeted toward related device coverage this year.

Board members debated whether the insurance should be optional for families or paid for centrally. Director Casey and others raised equity concerns for families with multiple children and urged staff to model whether district-paid coverage would be more cost-effective than family-paid insurance. Director Gilmartin asked staff to return with a full comparison of options and recommended next steps before the June 3 meeting.

Directors pressed operational details: which grades keep devices (secondary grades only; K–4 will move to classroom Chromebook carts), how replacements will be handled on life-cycle schedules (five‑year replacement cycle), and the district's plan to hold spare devices at each school to reduce delays at the start of the school year. Doctor Keating said system reminders and communications would begin in early August to reduce lost-device disruption.

No formal vote was recorded at the work session. The board reached a consensus to pilot the summer‑take‑home plan and asked Doctor Keating to include clear opt‑out language, insurance-cost scenarios (family opt-in vs. district coverage), and replacement-cost estimates in the June packet.