LCPS replaced 11,000 devices this summer. Now it’s figuring out what the old tech is worth
LCPS replaced about 11,000 devices over the summer, generating roughly 200 pages of property dispositions as the district determines what its old technology is worth.
About 200 pages of property dispositions followed a major technology refresh, with the district expecting some older devices to retain value
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - Las Cruces Public Schools replaced approximately 11,000 devices over the summer, sending thousands of older laptops and other pieces of technology out of circulation and generating about 200 pages of property dispositions for the district to process.
The unusually large disposal list surfaced Thursday during the Board of Education’s Finance Subcommittee meeting, where board members questioned how much of the aging technology still has value — and how much money LCPS could recover from it.
“Page by page, please,” Vice President Robert Wofford joked as the committee reached the property disposition item.
“There are 200 pages,” he added.
Associate Controller Alfredo Pacheco said the overwhelming majority of those pages resulted from a districtwide technology refresh.
According to information Pacheco presented to the committee, the devices being removed from circulation are either damaged beyond repair or old enough that they can no longer effectively run software currently used by the district.
“This is a larger group than usual because we replaced approximately 11,000 devices over the summer, which allowed us to remove a significant number of older devices from circulation,” Pacheco read from the district’s response to questions submitted by committee Chair Ed Frank.
What happens to 11,000 old devices?
The discarded technology is being turned over to a vendor through Cooperative Educational Services, which evaluates each device individually. The vendor assigns a value based on the condition of the equipment and any components that can be reused, then pays LCPS the assessed amount minus applicable freight costs.
District officials said they expect the current batch could return more money than previous technology dispositions because it includes laptops with at least some working components.
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Support Organ Mountain NewsHow much will LCPS get back?
Exactly how much LCPS will recover remains unknown.
The district’s property disposition paperwork lists a total amount of $38,301.43, but Pacheco emphasized that figure does not represent the value of the entire technology disposal list. The amount is tied to specific assets for which values were already listed, while many of the devices included in the roughly 200-page inventory have not yet been assigned a value.
“The dollar amount would be determined at a later date,” Pacheco said.
Frank asked the district to return with a report showing what LCPS ultimately receives for the equipment and how that amount compares with technology dispositions in previous years.
“I think it would be really beneficial to get a report of what that CES entity comes up with and also to have it compared to previous years,” Frank said.
He said the sheer size of the disposal list made the eventual return worth tracking.
“It would just be interesting to find out how much these 200 pages of dispositions, what it actually results in, in terms of what we get for it,” Frank said, acknowledging that some of the equipment may have no remaining value.
Wofford said he initially had the same concern about seeing approximately $38,000 associated with such a large inventory.
“That was my question — $38,000 for all those pages,” he said.
The Finance Subcommittee ultimately recommended that the property dispositions move to the full Board of Education as a consent agenda item. The documents are scheduled for board consideration Tuesday.
Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.
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