By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The School Department is requesting a $650,000 capital budget for fiscal year 2026 in order to address the district’s aging technology infrastructure.
Superintendent Tom Geary said during the School Committee’s Jan. 28 meeting that the School Department has traditionally received $250,000 in capital funds for technology expenses each fiscal year, which has primarily been used to implement a one-to-one Chromebook initiative in grades 1-12.
“They have been earmarked for Chromebook replacements,” said Geary. “Last year for technology, we only received $125,000. This hurt us this year.”
Geary recalled that the School Committee voted last winter to hire Focus Technology to conduct an audit of the Technology Department. He also said the School Department awarded a one-year contract to NorthEast Technology to serve as the district’s managed technology service provider last fall. He also recalled that Rochelle Cooper was appointed as the district’s educational technology department head last summer.
“Our technology infrastructure is in a dire state, and you will be hearing more about it from Rochelle Cooper at our (Feb. 11) meeting,” said Geary.
Geary said Cooper, Focus Technology and NorthEast Technology recommended that the School Department purchase 87 Wi-Fi access points for the elementary schools, 90 teacher laptops, 40 flat panels, Chromebooks for grades 1, 5 and 9, and firewall, mounts and switches in FY26. He also said Lynnfield Middle School’s PA system has to be replaced in the next fiscal year.
“Our hardware and infrastructure has aged, and it has not be replaced or updated in a timely manner,” said Geary. “We are at a point where a lot of our equipment is at the end of life. I am requesting $650,000 in capital funds to begin to address this. We have a longer-term plan, but this is the amount that is immediately needed to avoid a crisis. This is not growth. This is simply to maintain. There are other capital plans that I have laid that we will bring forward in future years, but this is what is urgent and has to be dealt with now. If these were all included, we would be looking at $650,000. I don’t feel comfortable going below that.”
Geary said the town is currently in the process of developing a five-year capital improvement plan. He presented the capital budget requests to the School Committee during a budget workshop, and also presented the capital budget requests to the Capital Improvement Plan Committee in December.
“That committee will be making decisions as we go throughout the budget process,” said Geary.
School Committee member Jamie Hayman aired concerns about the district implementing a one-to-one Chromebook initiative in the two elementary schools.
“I get it in the middle school and I absolutely get it in the high school,” said Hayman. “I get that you need to have carts and enough Chromebooks to administer MCAS at the elementary schools, but if we are replacing 175 Chromebooks every four years in first grade, that is $40,000 to $50,000.”
School Committee Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy said the School Department will not be able to bring back a one-to-one Chromebook initiative in the elementary schools if the program gets eliminated in FY26.
“If we take it away, we take it away,” said Elworthy. “That is a cut back from where we are at. It might be the step back we need to take, but that is why it is not taken out of this budget at this point. I agree with you that it is definitely a discussion.”