School technology budget planning: what to include

What goes into a school technology budget?

A school technology budget has four lines: the hardware a classroom uses, such as a display and the teachers' and pupils' devices; the software, such as a learning platform paid for by licence or subscription; the support that keeps both working, from training to repairs and replacement; and the way the school pays for each.

The UK Department for Education's digital leadership and governance standard, written for schools and colleges in England, puts the budget inside a wider technology plan. A strategy aligned with the school's development plan, it says, helps make sure that “your budget, buying decisions and any risks are managed” and that “staff and students receive the training they need to use digital technology safely and effectively”.

A school technology budget is a plan for running technology, not only for buying it. The standard is written for England, but the four lines apply to any school that buys classroom technology.

How do you build a school technology budget, step by step?

Build a school technology budget in five steps: list what the school already owns and what each item's warranty and renewal dates are, price the hardware it needs to add or replace, price the software and its renewals, price the support and training, and decide how each line will be paid. Then set a date to review it every year before the budget cycle.

1. List what the school owns. Displays, devices, platforms and contracts, each with its warranty end date and renewal date.
2. Price the hardware. What needs adding, and what is due for replacement this year.
3. Price the software. Each licence and subscription, its number of users and its renewal date.
4. Price the support. Training for staff, repairs outside warranty, and the IT help the school uses.
5. Decide how each line is paid, and set the yearly review date before the next budget cycle.

The first step follows the UK standard's registers: a contracts register, an asset register and an information asset register help a school “understand what digital data, equipment and systems you have”. A list of what the school owns, with dates, is the starting point of every other line in the budget.

Why budget for support and replacement, not only the purchase?

A school technology budget needs a support and replacement line because a device that breaks, or a platform nobody was trained to use, costs the school lessons as well as money. That line pays for training, repairs outside warranty and the eventual replacement of hardware.

The UK standard lists what goes wrong without a plan, including “budget pressures if digital technology systems fail and need to be replaced” and a lack of resources “to support the use and replacement of digital technology”. Without registers of what a school owns, it warns of “lost learning and workload burdens if software or hardware is not budgeted for or supported”.

Read the warranty before setting the repair line. Within the group, Neon+ gives its projectors a 365-day local warranty for manufacturing defects, with 1-to-1 replacement for product faults in warranty and no cash refunds, and Citzen gives every CZ-4 laptop a 1-year local warranty from the date of purchase. How long a classroom projector lasts in daily use is covered in how long a classroom projector lasts.

How should a school budget for software subscriptions?

Treat software as a recurring cost, not a one-off. Record each licence and subscription with its price, what it covers, how many users it is for and its renewal date, and decide before each renewal whether the school still needs it at that size.

The UK standard says “The contracts register includes, but is not limited to:” licences, subscriptions, and contracts for broadband, IT support and the technology provider. It says the registers help schools keep track of buying and licensing “so that schools or colleges can get better value for money when renewing software and hardware”, and warns that without them a school risks “budget pressures due to accidental renewal of subscriptions, software and hardware that might not be needed, or are not the best value for money”.

A renewal date on a register is what stops a subscription renewing by accident. Easy Edu, the group's digital learning platforms company, publishes a school platform contract checklist (on easyedu.com.my) covering renewal, notice and what the price includes.

Which group company covers which part of the budget?

Four of the group's five companies cover a line of a school technology budget: Neon+ for classroom projectors, Citzen for lightweight laptops and tablets, Easy Edu for digital learning platforms, and ES Producation Services for education financing and payment solutions. ESP Global, in Hong Kong, manages intercompany sourcing and supply for the group's own companies.

Single-product questions, such as which display suits one room, are answered on that company's own site; whether a classroom needs a projector or a TV is covered in projector or TV for a classroom.

How can a school or teacher spread the cost?

Ask about payment options before fixing the budget, because how a purchase is paid changes which year's budget carries it. Within the group there are two separate routes: ES Producation Services covers education financing and payment solutions, and Neon+ separately offers its own 0% instalment plans for Malaysian teachers, with an application required.

ES Producation Services states its mission as “To provide structured and responsible financing solutions, including flexible payment plans, to improve access to education technology for educators and institutions.” That is the company's stated aim; this guide gives no rate, tenure or eligibility, and every plan is subject to its own terms and approval.

A payment plan moves the cost between budget years; it does not remove the support and renewal lines. Put the instalments in the budget alongside them.

When should a school plan its technology budget?

Plan it every year, before the school's budget cycle starts, with the people who run the budget and the people who support the technology in the room. That gives time to check renewal dates, warranties and the condition of the hardware before the money is set.

The UK standard asks schools in England to “Have a digital technology strategy that is reviewed every year”, and says the standard “can then be completed before your next budget cycle”. It names an operational team, such as the business professional, finance team or IT support, “to help support and inform budget planning”.

A yearly review before the budget cycle keeps renewals, repairs and replacements from arriving unplanned.

What should a school send to start a budget conversation?

Send the number of classrooms, the devices and displays already in use with their warranty dates, the platform and its renewal date if there is one, and when the school's budget cycle starts. With that, the group can put the school in touch with the right company for each line.

• How many classrooms, and which already have a display.
• The teachers' and pupils' devices in use, and their warranty end dates.
• The learning platform, its number of users and its renewal date.
• When the school's budget cycle starts, and whether a payment option is wanted.

WhatsApp the group on +60 12-565 2091 or email info@neonplus.com.my, and we will put you in touch with the right company. Every school technology guide from the group is listed on the insights page.