Thousands of EPISD iPads need upgrades

If you own an Apple product, you know the company comes out with updates on a regular basis.

The El Paso Independent School District is also being affected because the district owns nearly 36,000 iPads.

A few years ago, EPISD started using iPads in schools as a training tool. The program was very small.

Just a few years later, iPads are now a crucial part of the district’s curriculum.

Students have their digital textbooks loaded on the iPads. Middle school students are using them as part of algebra courses and pre-k students are using them as part of a grant.

At today’s EPISD meeting, an account executive with Apple Education met with the board and superintendent to update both on the number of iPads the district owns. The representative also informed the district on how many of those devices need to be upgraded.

EPISD spokesperson Melissa Martinez was at the meeting.

“When we have these assets in our district, in our schools, we want to make sure we have the most up to date as possible to keep up to date with the curriculum. So if the students are using them for algebra for instance, we want to make sure those are up to date so they are able to function and they are not slow and what not,” Martinez said.

Currently, the district owns nearly 36,000 iPads. Nearly 16,000 of those are ready for resale or trade in.

“There is an opportunity they presented today for resale for the district, essentially to trade them in for new ones. It’s an inventory and it helps create a funding stream for the district to be able to use the iPads essentially like a trade in,” Martinez said.

District officials say they will consider a leasing program in the future to try and stay current with Apple upgrades.