In August of 2000 Rivendell leased (3 year) 96 laptops from Compaq. This
was part of a capital expense for the startup of the school district, then
in its very first year. 40 or so were targeted towards two laptop labs in
our middle/high school, the rest for staff. We had two options at the
conclusion of the lease, one to pay fair-market value or return them, the
other to buy them outright for $1 (at higher annual cost). We chose the $1
buyout. We'll see if that was the right decision in another year or so...

Generally speaking, this was a reasonable way to deploy a significant
number of computers at an amortized cost. While I hate paying interest on
anything, the terms were pretty favorable for schools and if it is a goal
to get into a cycle of replacement, leasing is a reasonably good way to
start. It also makes it easy to budget if you know the annual cost for the
next couple of years will be the same. Conversely, equipment prices drop
all the time and we will end up paying more for less in each year of the
lease. Despite this, it is likely that we will lease again when it is time
to replace these laptops.

Hank Plaisted
IT Specialist
Rivendell Interstate School District
[log in to unmask]
603.353.2170
Fax.353.2189

[log in to unmask] writes:
>About 2 years ago Walden School leased (for 3 years) 10 new PCs from
>Micron.
>It made an immediate difference in the PCs per student, and in the average
>performance of the machines in use. The decision to do this was largely
>that
>of one of three people then on the school board.
>
>I've often heard arguments that leases make less sense for nonprofits
>such as
>schools because they can't take the same tax advantages of the lease costs
>as a business can. The school might have been able to save a few bucks by
>getting a loan and buying the PCs.
>
>However, there is one additional factor that has made the lease
>advantageous,
>and that is that they are covered by a warranty and tech support for the
>term
>of the lease. So, when a monitor burns out, or I need help getting a PC
>back
>into working order, I can call Micron and get competent, friendly, prompt
>help.
>
>Sigurd Andersen
>
>At 11:33 AM 3/28/02 -0500, you wrote:
>
>>Hi all
>>
>>First sorry for the duplication of this message, but I want to reach as
>>main of you as possible.
>>
>>Here at Lamoille south we are investigating the option to lease our
>>technology equipment.  Is anyone in a lease agreement at this point with
>>their technology infrastructure? I would like to hear from those of you
>>that have signed a lease how this is going for your school districts and
>>is it lowering the total cost of ownership of the equipment.  I have a
>few
>>questions about it.
>>
>>How long have you been in a lease?
>>
>>Who do you have the lease through?
>>
>>What have been the pros and cons to be in the lease?
>>
>>What is your total percentage of your technology budget and/or hardware
>>budget that you have committed to a lease?
>>
>>What is type of equipment is on the lease?
>>
>>Have you seen an increase in use of technology by students since you have
>>enacted the lease?
>>
>>Did the lease change the instruction for the students by increasing the
>>number of machines that the students have access to?
>>
>>
>>
>>Thanks a bunch for the advise.
>>
>>Bill Kimball
>>