Potter-Dix School Board members approve pilot project

The purchase of Kuno tablets for teachers and students and updating internet access points dominated members’ discussion during the March Potter-Dix Board of Education meeting.

Cisco Systems employee made a map of the Potter school to determine where new access points need to be installed to support new tablets.

It was determined and then explained that approximately 10 would be needed to cover entire school, at a cost of around $600 each. In addition, there would be $107 per year for 24/7 technical support of each of the access points, and then a wireless controller that would control all of the access points at a cost of $2300, and a switch to the power so that each can just be plugged in to the Ethernet where it gets its power and power won’t have to be run to each access point at $740.

The total quote offered by Cisco representatives came to $10,635 for the updated Wi-Fi.

The figures in the quote does not include installation or the cable work that would also have to be run to each access point. The board members aren’t looking to upgrade the access points at the Dix school.

The Kuno Fours will be on the market around mid-summer. The Potter-Dix tech committee wanted to get the devices in teachers’ hands prior to the end of the school year so that they would be able to get comfortable with the tablets over the summer.

But if the decision is made to order the Fours instead of the Threes, the sooner that the school gets their name on the list for the Kuno Fours, the sooner they will be shipped once they are ready. The Kuno Fours don’t have an exact release date, but it could be as early as June.

The Kuno tablets were informally quoted by a Kuno representative. The Kuno Pilot Pack would contain 30 tablets, protective cases, keyboards, charging station for each, Curriculum Explorer software, admin training, free access to Cloud for unlimited storage and an optional on-site two-day professional Kuno representative visit for implementation. This package price is for both the Kuno Three (currently available) and the Kuno Four. There is no way to upgrade the Kuno Threes to make them like Kuno Fours.

In order for the school to finance the devices through the company, a minimum of $100,000 would have to be spent. The average interest rate for schools is three to four percent. Kunos are financed through the Government Capital Corporation. If the total is paid in full, there will be a 2 percent discount.

There was debate about whether the Kuno Threes should be purchased now and then shipped to the elementary school once the Kuno Fours are purchased. The only difference between the devices is the processor gigahertz. The Kuno Threes might not work on an upgraded internet system because they may not support the five gigahertz internet.

It was explained, the Kuno Fours will have a better internet connection which will make it easier to sync data at the school.

Supt. - Prin. Kevin Thomas said he doesn’t see a need to purchase the Kuno Threes if there might be an issue with the internet connection because his understanding is that the new access points will work on the higher frequency in which the Kuno Threes are not compatible.

The main concern by the committee is that the Kuno Fours won’t be in teacher’s hand until mid-summer. So there was discussion that when ordering the Kuno Fours, the teachers will pick them up when the devices arrive in July, and a couple of days for training in August will be factored into the calendar and contracts for the next school year.

The need to purchase 130 devices was figured, for a total of $64,870, in addition, more keyboards may be purchased for the teachers and possibly putting a few keyboards in the library so that they may be “checked out.”

This includes three years of insurance. Students would be asked to pay a non-refundable fee of approximately $35 dollars per year for usage, and the school would see a return of $16,800 on this. If this return is figured into the total cost, and the optional implementation is not taken, the cost for the Kuno tablets comes to around $89,000, plus the cost of additional keyboards; this would be if tablets for the elementary school are included.

Another option discussed was for grades seven through 12 only, with the purchase of 130 devices. The teachers would have Kuno Threes and the students would have the Kuno Fours.

The Edu Pack includes keyboard, two stylus pens and a carrying case for the tablet. Each device comes with a cover and a charger.

Keyboards through the same company are $63 each. Thomas suggested further research about keyboards to see if there are compatible ones that are cheaper.

Additional expense for teaching apps for the devices was discussed. Some apps may cost $5 each, while the price for others may be $2-$3. These apps would have to be purchased for both the teachers and the students for each device. The apps would be a one-time purchase for the devices. An option of setting a budget for each classroom for the purchase of apps was discussed.

In conclusion, the technology committee will do further research about access point installation through other companies; get a quote for Kuno Fours for grades seven through twelve and elementary teachers; check on keyboard options;look at opting-out of the insurance for devices. By the next meeting, enough information will exist about these things that a decision might possibly be reached about what to do at that point.

A motion was made and approved for the purchase of the Kuno Four Pilot Pack of 30.

The next Potter-Dix BOE meeting will be on Thursday, April eleventh at 7:00 p.m. in the Potter school library. Parents are encouraged to attend.