The Knoxville School Board approved the purchase of just over 2,000 refreshed Ipads for all students, teachers and administrators. Apple will buy back all the Ipads Knoxville will use under this agreement at roughly 20 percent of their value, which comes to about $140,000.

Ipad purchases for the younger students in the district will cost $294 each, while the secondary students’ Ipads will cost $414 each. The total cost of the new Ipads for the school district will be around $1 million. According to Craig Mobley, the school is purchasing Ipads, cases and Apple Care, which is maintenance.

Knoxville School Superintendent Cassi Pearson tells KNIA/KRLS News, “Technology is definitely a component of schools just like it is businesses and households any more. And it’s one you can’t do without. So we’ve been using Ipads for 4-years, and with any kind of device, even when we had laptops after a couple of years they start slowing down and not working as well. So we are always on a schedule to replace  those with a different device and a more updated device.”

The new upgrade will bring the younger students, fifth grade and younger from a series 6 to series 9 Ipads. Students in grades six through 12 will be upgraded to a series 10 Ipad.

The Ipads will be used for the next four years. The 4-year lease agreement will be with zero percent interest.