The Pleasanton school board is set to consider purchasing 7,000 new Dell Chromebooks for students in grades 4-12 at Tuesday night's meeting.

The $2 million purchase from CDW-G would be part of the district's "student device initiative," funded through Measure I1, the school facilities bond approved by voters in November 2016. The measure's funding for middle and high school student computers is "intended to be sustained for 8-10 years," district officials said in an email.

Of the 7,000 new devices, 6,200 would be "take-home" devices for students in grades 6-10 starting next school year, with additional grades added in subsequent years. Staff also recommends purchasing carrying cases for these laptops, which is included in the $2 million total.

The remaining 800 would be for fourth- and fifth-grade students, though these would remain at school, to be stored in carts or lockable cabinets.

According to staff, the initiative is part of a greater push toward teaching students digital citizenship and helping them to acquire 21st century skills. Additionally, the purchase would ensure that all students have access to adequate materials for the modern learning environment.

Staff points to the California Department of Education website in their report, specifically to the question on the Instructional Materials FAQ, "Do Web-based or electronic textbooks count as instructional materials?"

In response, the department states, "Yes, but in order to meet the definition of sufficient instructional materials students need to have access to the materials both at school and at home. This presumes that students with Web-based materials have access to computers and the Internet in school and at home and students with electronic textbooks have access to computers in school and at home."

Students can also choose to bring their own computer device instead of being issued a district one.

The Measure I1 bond provides funding for students in grades 6-12 to each have access to a laptop computer, and for one device to be allocated for every three students in fourth and fifth grades.

"This issuance specifies that device purchases will be financed so that the funds will be paid back over a five-year period to match the expected life of the devices," staff wrote in their report.

If the purchase is approved, after the first year students in grades six and nine will be issued a personal Chromebook for use at home and at school, to be used throughout their respective middle and high school careers. Students will be expected to bring the devices to class fully charged, operational and in good condition.

In eighth grade, students will return their laptop to the school, and will be issued a new one as high school freshmen. Graduating seniors will return the computers after completing their high school careers. The returned devices will be used as spares until they are obsolete -- officials expect the Chromebooks to have a five-year lifespan.

The district plans on purchasing additional Chromebooks for every year of the plan.

"The largest single year investment will be made this year, due to the fact that five grades will be included in the initial distribution," officials wrote in an email. "We plan to purchase sufficient Chromebooks for up to two grades for each year after the first year."

The board will also consider approving CDW-G's "white-glove" preparation service, in order to ensure the computers will be ready by the first day of the 2018-19 school year. For this service, which would cost an additional $75,000, CDW-G would apply district-approved asset tags to all devices, enroll them into Pleasanton Unified's Google domain and remove all packaging materials before being delivered to campuses.

The regular meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the district board room, 4665 Bernal Ave.

In other business

* During a hefty closed session from 5-7 p.m., trustees will consider the appointment of a project manager of construction and facilities, as well as will evaluate the performance of Superintendent David Haglund.

Also during this time, the board will confer with assistant superintendent of human resources Julio Hernandez on negotiations with the Association of Pleasanton Teachers and the California School Employees Association.

The closed-door meeting will conclude with discussions on a handful of litigation and student disciplinary cases: two rejected claims made by students against the district, three cases of anticipated litigation and two cases of stipulated suspended expulsion.

* Listed as three separate items on the consent calendar, the board will consider terminating its agreements with the YMCA of the East Bay to operate programs at Lydiksen, Mohr and Fairlands elementary schools. Instead, the district's Kids Club will operate after-school and summer programs at the three sites.

"The District's Administration and the YMCA of the East Bay believe it is in the best interest of both entities" to make this shift, staff wrote for each of the agenda items. The three contracts had previously been set to expire in 2021, but if approved, this transition will be made effective May 21.

The consent calendar is a collection of items deemed routine and voted upon all at once unless pulled for separate consideration by the board, staff or at the request of the public.

* The board has three official recognitions set for Tuesday: they will honor recipients of the African American Student Achievement Award; Arlene Simpelo, a first-grade teacher at Lydiksen who was selected as the district's Teacher of the Year; and Fairlands, Hearst and Lydiksen elementary schools, named as 2018 California Distinguished Schools.

* Trustees will consider approving Amador Valley High School's access period proposal.

This year, Amador was piloting an access period, which shifted the school's weekly schedule to a modified block schedule in order to provide an extra, supportive 40-minute period twice a week.

At the meeting, Amador staff will address any concerns raised in a recent reflection survey, and present their proposal to continue the access period and modified block schedule in the fall.

*Board members will consider approving a contract with AMS.NET and School Project for Utility Rate Reduction (SPURR) joint powers authority to upgrade Amador's network.

The $636,000 contract would be funded through Measure I1.

The district plans to implement network upgrades across PUSD, with Amador as the prototype.

*The board will consider approving updated board policies and administrative regulations to better align with recommended language from the California School Board Association.