By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board approved the purchase of iPads for students in grades K-5 at its meeting Monday night.
The board meeting was held through Zoom and broadcast on Facebook.
Apple has offered a no-interest lease agreement for 1,50o iPads and cases. The lease would cost $360 per iPad and case for a total lease of $540,000 over four years.
The lease would allow the district to get ahead in its rotation for replacement of the kindergarten through second-grade devices, said Scott Summers, USD 489 technology director.
The district had planned to use the current K-2 devices a total of six years, and then rotate the next round of K-2 devices out after four years, he said. Adopting the proposed lease would mean two five-year rotations on the K-2 devices if the district opted for the $1 buy-back option at the end of the lease.
Summers estimated the district could reap about $50 per device if it bought and then sold the leased devices.
The district has budgeted funds in its capital outlay to pay for the lease.
A board member asked Summers if the iPads would be available considering COVID-19 supply issues.
Summers said Apple said the iPads could be available within three weeks of order and the cases could be available within six weeks of order.