Some students and staff in DeKalb schools could have new Chromebooks to use next year.

DeKalb School District 428 has agreed to buy more Chromebooks for incoming students headed for first, fifth and ninth grade, as well as replacement devices for staff.

At a school board meeting this week, Ben Bayle, the district’s director of technology, expressed excitement about the savings that the district can realize.

“Due to our partnership, we were able to reduce our costs over last year by $8.50 [per device], which will save us about $14,450,” Bayle said.

For the 2026-27 school year, the district intends to purchase 1,700 new Chromebooks for $901,850, school board documents show. Each device will come with a four-year unlimited accidental warranty, a Google Management license, content filtering, and an always-on hardshell case.

The district first started equipping students with Chromebooks 13 years ago to better meet the demands of teaching and learning in the 21st century, school board documents show. The initiative is intended to help bridge equity gaps among students.

Bayle acknowledged that the district is looking for ways to save costs.

One way the district accomplishes that is by refurbishing devices once students graduate from the high school.

“We actually send them out as fast as possible to get the broken ones repaired,” Bayle said. “We get those back, and then those go into the loner pools that are used across the district.”

District staff said devices typically come with a five- to six-year lifespan.

Bayle emphasized that the time to act is now.

“If we really extend this [request] past Jan. 1, what we’re looking at is an additional 15% increase over that $901,000, so now we’re in the million-dollar mark,” Bayle said. “I really, really don’t want to do that.”

The district expects delivery of the devices by July 1, school board documents show.

Board Vice President Jose Jaques expressed gratitude toward Bayle for working to save costs.

“I want to thank you for staying on top of this and saving us,” Jaques said.