MOKANE, Mo. - Although repairs have gone up and more iPads were reported stolen or missing, the South Callaway school district incurred a loss of just $41 loss during the program's second year.
Jeff Nelson, district director of technology, briefed the school board Wednesday on the status of the program after its second year.
The school uses third-party insurance to assist students in covering the cost of repairs. When the program was introduced, the district provided a $5,000 pool to alleviate the cost of insurance for families, Nelson said.
Students who check out an iPad and purchase the insurance must pay an initial cost of $40 for the individual device. If a family has more children using the equipment, the initial outlay is limited to $80. If students wish to renew their iPad checkout for the following year, the insurance renewal fees would be $15 for individuals and $30 for families.
"We anticipate repairs will go up as equipment ages," Nelson said. "We're not trying to make money off the insurance, we're just trying to help those who participate."
Accessories provided for the iPads include a power supply, power cable, a case and carrying bag, but these items are not covered by the insurance, Nelson said, and tend to be reported missing more. Students who do not return accessories are required to reimburse the district for the cost of the item.
Students who check out iPads aren't required to participate in the insurance program, but reimbursement for incurred damages or items reported stolen would be mandatory, Nelson said.
The program, which provides iPads for students in grades 2-12, had 87 percent participation for a total of 544 district students.
Help desks were set up in anticipation of the program for repairs and questions concerning utilization and software, Nelson said. The help desks had 336 ticket logs into the system for maintenance and repairs, according to the data. Of those, 133 of the iPads were sent off for additional repairs.
The majority of the 40 iPads reported lost or missing were recovered on the campus. Four were stolen or not returned this year in addition to two from the program's first year. Nelson said one of the iPads was recovered in Fulton after it was stolen from a vehicle. Another is suspected to be somewhere in Florida, but the district has no way of contacting that family, he added. Of the remaining four, two were covered by funds in the insurance pool.
The insurance pool is not available to fund iPad repairs, instead, that money comes out of the district's maintenance budget, Nelson said. Since the program has another two years to run, the district is keeping a close watch on maintenance costs to see if the budget will need to be increased.
If the budget is able to sustain the number of maintenance requests, the district will start looking into the next phase of the program, he added.
"I think the program provides opportunities for students to be exposed to the technology and use it as a tool in the classroom," Nelson said.