Board approves annual Chromebook replacement; parents press district on content filtering and student safety

The Chico Unified Board approved the district’s annual Chromebook replacement purchase for 2026–27 after a presentation from John Vincent describing the program and competitive bids.

Vincent told trustees the replacement purchase is an annual process to retire devices with battery or hardware problems and keep students and staff working on reliable machines. He said there were three bidders and that the lowest responsible bid was approximately $100,000 less than the next bid. The board moved, seconded and approved the purchase.

Public commenters before and during the discussion asked the district to strengthen content filtering and to convene a stakeholder committee. One parent recounted that a student received a sexually explicit image via a district Chromebook email account and said the district’s filtering vendor (Securly) had a detection tool in place for months but that staff had not been aware or able to block the material effectively. The commenter urged proactive planning for rapid developments in AI and content-delivery tools.

Board members asked staff practical questions about device carts, charging and whether limiting Chromebook take-home access at elementary schools might reduce damage and replacement needs. Vincent said an audit of elementary carts is underway and agreed that restricting take-home devices could reduce replacement rates.

Trustees also discussed where parents can provide input to the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) and noted the June timeline for final LCAP approval and the state filing deadline of July 1. Board members encouraged parents concerned about classroom technology use to participate in LCAP meetings and feedback windows.

The motion to approve the Chromebook replacement purchase carried; the meeting record shows discussion and at least one board member expressed opposition before the item passed. The public comment record at the meeting highlighted requests for a stakeholder review of filtering and safety tools and for clearer communication about what the district’s systems block and detect.