CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Teachers and students in classrooms across Kanawha County will soon be using the next best technology.
The Kanawha County Board of Education unanimously approved the master lease agreement with Apple for the next four years on Monday in a deal totaled at more than $10.2 million.
Students in grade 5-12 will begin using the 7th Gen iPad next school year and teachers will receive the lastest 10.2 inch iPad and 13-inch 8th Gen MacBook Air, an upgrade from their last deal.
“That’s our goal as an educational system is to prepare our students for college and career, In Career and college, they have updated devices, that’s what we’re expected to use,” Leah Sparks, the Executive Director of Technology for the school system told 580-WCHS.
“We want to make sure we are mimicking that for our school system.”
The school system’s master agreement with Apple came in 2014 and is resigned every three years. However when signed, its a four-year lease. Sparks explained at the meeting that the school system sees good market value for trade-in when it comes time.
“We can get a significant amount for selling those back,” she said. “We can get roughly $2.5 to $3 million by selling those back. That allows us to upgrade our current equipment.”
In the lease, Kanawha County Schools will pay $2.9 million per year for the first three years then $1.3 million in the fourth year.
Also at the board meeting, the next Superintendent of Schools Dr. Tom Williams got his contract approved. The one-year deal from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, is worth $150,000.
Joseph B. Fields, II was approved as the head football coach at Herbert Hoover High School, as he was listed on the approved personnel agenda.