Why buy when you can lease?

By Gerald Lauber

I am forever amazed at the speed at which technology reinvents itself. Just when you think you have the hottest computer on the market, a better, faster model comes along to bump it off the top spot.

It seems ludicrous, then, that school districts put so much effort into passing multimillion dollar bond issues to purchase new technology. This "new" technology, unfortunately, is likely to become "old" -- and possibly even obsolete -- long before voters pay off the bond issue.

From my perspective, leasing computers makes more sense. That's what we did in my New York district, which serves 5,500 students in a middle-class community that is relatively low tech. I can't imagine doing it any other way.

The district is currently working under a full-service contract in which we are leasing 1,300 Dell P166 computers, plus software and consultants, at a cost of about $1 million a year. If we had tried to purchase these services as part of our regular annual budget, it would have cost $8 million -- a big chunk of cash in a district with an annual operating budget of $69 million.

I believe the community would have supported a bond issue to buy new computers, but we didn't think that was the path to take, either. We concluded that leasing was the smartest, most efficient thing to do when dealing with an industry that never ceases to stop reinventing itself.

Even so, you have to be careful when making that choice, because a poorly planned leasing arrangement can be just as disastrous as a purchasing arrangement that leaves you with hundreds or thousands of obsolete computers. A badly designed leasing agreement, too, can leave you with a battalion of computer stations that nobody uses.

Know what you want

Before you set out to lease computers, you should start with this premise: Technology is useless unless it has a purpose.

The leasing vendors aren't going to tell you that. They'll give their sales pitches, citing figures about RAM and other technical aspects of the hardware with little regard for what software you will be using and what your objectives are. You have to know what the desired outcomes are so you can ask vendors tough questions about whether their product will deliver.

In our district, we have a heavy emphasis on student-centered learning, which involves kids in investigating and analyzing information on their own initiative. In other words, we do not simply want teachers standing at the head of the class, spoon-feeding information to kids. A cornerstone of that curriculum is our writing program. We believe kids need to be able to write in a host of different styles, and about a plethora of topics, in order to be prepared to work in the postmodern world.

As a consequence, we wanted a leasing agreement that would provide us with computers that were highly networkable, allowing kids and teachers to interact with each other online and find and analyze data from a diverse set of online sources. We wanted computers with enough memory to be able to work with -- and download -- high-quality graphics, because computer images and video clips provide invaluable sources of knowledge and understanding. We also wanted computers that could work with productivity software.

My advice, then, is not to look for the latest, hottest computers on the market; instead, look for a system that suits your curriculum and administrative needs. The benefit of leasing is that you are usually offered computer models that have already been used effectively in the business world, but are still far from obsolescence. In other words, they are not hot off the shelves, but they are proven.

Once you know what you want, take the time to see what the leasing vendors have to offer. But when you're ready to make a decision, I recommend sticking with one vendor to design, equip, and maintain your districtwide program. When more than one vendor is involved, you are asking for trouble: When something goes wrong, the different vendors are likely to blame each other for the problems, creating delays that deprive the kids of access to the technology.

Our vendor -- Computer Curriculum Corp. (CCC) -- provides a project manager to oversee all aspects of the lease and an on-site engineer to service the entire network, clean the machines, and iron out any technical glitches that come along. CCC also provides two consultants who offer classroom instruction in using the computers, and teacher training.

With our own funds, we created a position called an instructional technology specialist, who works year-round developing better ways to integrate the computer software into the district's instructional program. That person earns $87,000 a year, a competitive salary for such a position in our area.

A little advice

When we were reviewing possible leasing agreements, we ran smack into what might be called the platform problem. School employees entered into spirited debate comparing Macintosh computers with Windows-based computers. And believe me, regardless of which side they're on, people have strong opinions on this question.

Apple remains strong in the school market, and Macintosh is usually the computer of choice for graphic artists. But at the time our decision loomed, Apple was struggling, and I was seriously concerned about the future of the company. What's more, we wanted our students to use computers similar to those they would find in the working world, and for the most part, that means Windows machines.

I admit the decision to go with the Windows platform was made from the top, but I have no regrets because a decision had to be made quickly. And now, how the technology is being used is coming from the bottom up -- teachers and students showing district officials new connections between the technology and the district's instructional program. With leasing, too, we always have the option of switching to a different platform after the lease expires.

Another recommendation based on our experience is to include a loan program in your lease agreement. At the end of our five-year lease, when newer computers will be installed, we will be able to lend the older computers to the parents of poor students for as long as they want them -- provided they do not move out of the district.

True, these parents will not get state-of-the-art technology. But they will get computers with modems, which will allow them to access the Internet and check the district's online homework hotlines. And the loan program will help narrow the gap significantly between the technology haves and have nots. I think of this program as the silver lining in our lease agreement, the clause that adds value for the community.

Last but surely not least, the school board must be involved in this process -- and not just at the beginning when the decision to lease is made. We want our board members to be as tuned in to technology as we are. So, as part of the leasing deal, board members are given their own computers to use at home. They have access to the Internet, they can review curriculum projects from home, and they have access to the productivity software used by school administrators.

Our decision to lease has had an interesting outgrowth. Because the arrangement is working well in our district, I have been getting calls regularly from school districts struggling with the decision of whether to lease or buy.

For me, the initial decision seems obvious. But deciding whether or not to lease is just the first decision. Equally important considerations -- including what kind of computers you want and how they should be matched with your curriculum needs -- must be rigorously examined.

Take the time to make the right decisions. But don't take too long: Your students need this technology, and they need it now.

Gerald Lauber recently retired as superintendent of schools in South Huntington, N.Y. He serves as a consultant on technology and learning for the National Urban Alliance.