OPS to save $1.2 million on 1:1 by opting for Lenovo, dropping Apple

March 29, 2019 | 3:25 am

Updated March 28, 2019 | 11:24 pm

The Lenovo Chromebook will cost $400 per unit compared to Apple at $950 per unit, saving the district $1.2 million.

Owensboro Board of Education members unanimously approved an instructional technology bid for Lenovo Chromebooks for middle and high school, ending their seven-year contract with Apple.

Chief Academic Officer Matthew Constant said he and OPS technology staff have been happy with the Apple products.

“We’ve gotten the reliability,” Constant said. “They’ve been durable.”

In 2011, OPS equipped 2,200 students with MacBook Air laptops. Most recently, they signed a three-year lease agreement with Apple in 2016, securing 2,700 MacBook Air laptops for students in grades 5 through 12.

“Educational technology has changed so much and so fast,” said Constant, who encouraged his team to consider if OPS was utilizing Apple features to their full potential when considering a new technology contract.

Chris Bozarth director of facilities, maintenance and technology, found that answer to be no. In fact, Bozarth said less than 6 percent of Apple features were being used across the district.

Bozarth said his team purchased 12 to 15 different laptop options and tested them with middle school and high school students. The next step, Bozarth said, was an invitation for bid, which resulted in 11 submitted devices to OPS and of those seven were accepted.

According to Bozarth, OPS officials evaluated these options, assigning cost of the product at 50 percent weighted value, reliability at 30 percent and also considered ease of repair

“After creating a rubric, we are recommending the Lenovo product,” Bozarth said. “It has the latest processor and hardware. The other products didn’t have that. Readiness of the device itself and how it came apart were huge factors too.”

Students can use a stylus with the Lenovo Chromebook or it offers a touch screen.

“That’s a game changer for students with math,” Bozarth said.

Another selling feature, Bozarth said, was the $58 damage protection per device. He also said the company will pay the district up to $40 for repair, which allows the district to recoup some cost.

OPS Superintendent Nick Brake said he recently used the Lenovo Chromebook while traveling and was pleased with the machine. Brake said that while Apple was a good fit for OPS in previous years, it could not respond with a bid this year.

“They are moving away from the small MacBook Airs and are pushing the larger MacBooks that we use for our faculty,” Brake said.

The Lenovo Chromebook will cost $400 per unit compared to Apple at $950 per unit, saving the district $1.2 million.

“Apple was not an option to stay where we are at,” Brake said in terms of the instructional technology budget.

Brake told the board he consulted his student advisory council and admitted students like Apple products.

“There’s an image with Apple,” Brake said. “Instructionally, Google is much more used and I think our kids will figure out that Google is just as cool as Apple.”

March 29, 2019 | 3:25 am

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