Polk commissioners approve longer, 4-year lease with company

COLUMBUS—Polk County Schools will be getting 700 Chromebooks for students this year through a lease now approved by the school board and the Polk County Board of Commissioners. 

Commissioners met Monday and heard from Superintendent Aaron Greene about the lease. 

Greene said the school system needs to replace some of the Chromebooks located in the classrooms. The lowest bid and company the school system has worked with in the past came from Trinity3 LLC with lease payments not to exceed $186,000 total. The payments will be made over a four-year period. 

Greene said county commissioner approval is needed by state statute if a purchase is over $250,000, which this is not, or if the lease goes beyond three years. 

Greene also said at the end of the lease, the school system may purchase each Chromebook for $7 if they choose. 

Commissioner chair Tommy Melton asked if it is better for a four-year lease instead of the three-year lease because of the cost or the technology. Greene said the price is better at four years. 

“We feel like four years is a good term for us,” Greene said. 

The money has already been budgeted for the lease. The board of education will finance the cost of the contract out of its existing budget each of those fiscal years. 

Commissioners and the board of education unanimously approved a joint resolution for the school to enter into the four-year contract.