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LAUREL – The Laurel-Concord- Coleridge School Board approved three significant purchases at its last regular board meeting.
The board agreed to enter into a renewed four-year lease purchase with Apple for iPad devices for pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students along with the teachers in those grades; and MacBook Air laptops for high school students and those students’ faculty and staff.
The pre-kindergarten and high school art classes maintain a set of iPads in the classrooms.
The annual lease payment with no interest through Apple Inc. Financing would be $91,000.
An annual grant program will contribute $25,000 toward the cost, said Superintendent Jeremy Christiansen.
The last time LCC upgraded its technology was in 2020 and at that time the annual lease price was $84,500. The 2020 lease provided iPads for high school students while this year, laptops will be substituted.
“We find that every three to four years, the devices degrade to a point where the effectiveness and efficiency for daily instruction and classroom use becomes problematic,” Christiansen said. “This timeframe also allows us to take advantage of the market resale values of our technology devices to maximize funds for reinvestment.”
Marcus Messersmith, who leads the school’s technology team, is working to do just that - secure trade-in values for existing iPad and laptop devices, which will then be made available for sale.
The technology committee held meetings, created surveys, tested devices and talked to representatives from other school districts before coming up with their recommendations.
Messersmith and the team also recommended a new fee related to any repair or replacement costs of damaged technology devices. However, no action was taken by the board.
The topic will be researched further and the policy committee will consider options for potential board discussion laterthissummer, Christiansen said. At its last meeting, the school board also approved lighting work at the gyms on the Laurel campus. Thomp son Electric, Sioux Falls, S.D., provided a quote to replace all 28 high-bay light fixtures with energy efficient LED fixtures for a total of $28,750 which includes material, labor, and lift rental.
A four or five week lead time would be required to obtain lighting fixtures, Christiansen said.
This is the second major upgrade planned for the school gym. The board had previously approved a gym flooring project which will begin June 10.
Finally, the board approved the purchase of new English Language Arts curriculum: Amplify CKLA for grades K-8 for a five-year contract purchase of $96,000,andCommonLit360forgrades 9-12 for a three-year contract purchase of $18,000.
The curriculum was recommended by those serving on the ELA Curriculum Committee after a selection process.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., Monday, April 8, at the middle school conference room in Coleridge.
“We find that every three to four years, the devices degrade to a point where the effectiveness and efficiency for daily instruction and classroom use becomes problematic.”
— LCC Supt. Jeremy Christiansen
