District tech director reports more phishing, device damage and $364,000 USAC funding

Mark, the district's technology lead, told the board that March and early April saw a notable uptick in phishing attempts and that students have been damaging devices in new ways, including peeling screens or pulling keys off devices — a behavior he said started on a social-media platform trend and is now seen among staff and students.

"In the month of March...the attacks are up 40,000," he said, describing spikes in firewall and email hits and noting that phishing tests and training have raised awareness so fewer people click on test messages. He said the district runs simulated phishing campaigns via a state-granted tool (Nova) and recently saw no clicks in a test distributed to high school recipients.

On funding, Mark said the district expects to receive 114 Chromebooks this summer through the state's MLTI program and that the USAC E-rate-type funding awarded roughly $364,000 toward district technology improvements; the district is responsible for approximately 40% of those costs. He also described a reduced technology budget request for FY27 after scaling back an earlier plan to purchase new devices for every first grader.

Board members asked for clarification about acronyms and costs; Mark explained MLTI as a state device program and CTL as the Chromebook manufacturer.