But the larger issue may be shifting how districts think about infrastructure investments entirely, especially as AI and digitization force new bandwidth requirements.
Network as a Service represents a possible solution for some districts. It’s a subscription model that’s gaining traction as capital expenditure cycles become increasingly difficult to sustain.
Passow walked through a NaaS deployment based on square footage that recently helped one Texas district eliminate the pain of network refreshes.
"If they decide that their networking isn't great in the cafeteria, and they need three more access points, they don't have to go and get a purchase order," she said. "They have a service provider, just bring in those new access points, and it's the same cost that month or that year."
NaaS includes cabling upgrades and automatic technology refreshes, dropping the total cost of ownership by up to 50%. Crucially, it also aligns with E-rate's Managed Internal Broadband Services category, which means it may be eligible for that source of funding.
MORE FROM TCEA: How to take practical steps to prepare for AI.
Automation Is Key to Dealing With Talent Shortages
The exodus of IT talent to higher paying jobs is yet another challenge, especially in rural districts that have seen industries such as oil and gas, construction and data centers move in.
"I started getting hits on social media from Oracle, advertising positions open for the data center," one technology director shared during a forum for small and rural IT directors. "I'm looking at jobs that start at $135,000. I'm afraid that demand for tech people is going to pull from schools." Another director reported construction workers earning $80,000 just to operate heavy equipment.
For those who remain, the workload has expanded far beyond traditional IT.
"If it has a blinky light, it's your job," one IT director said. "I do the cameras, the doors and the HVAC. You know why? Because HVAC runs on the internet; it runs on the network."
The convergence of building systems onto IP networks has deputized technology directors as facilities managers.
"I get called sometimes, all the time, it's like, this teacher in room A, and they’re burning up, while the teacher in room B is freezing," he continued. "And that's just one of the many things one-man shops have to deal with."
Despite the challenges around small staff sizes, educators and IT specialists came to the conference ready to share ideas about how to overcome staffing shortages.
RELATED: Learn how some rural directs are building IT talent pipelines.
Device Management Is Key to Doing More With Less
Even though it serves a city of over 80,000, Longview Independent School District's staffing ratio is 1,900 students per technician, compared with a national average of 750 to 1 (and a recommended standard of 400 to 1).
To overcome the staffing deficit, the district has built a distributed support system that combines delegation, automation and strategic tool selection, which they shared during a session at TCEA.
Three Channels for Support Requests
Longview routes technical issues through three distinct pathways: a unified help desk staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; remote troubleshooting via GoGuardian, which allows technicians to view teachers’ screens, and in turn display student Chromebook issues, to have a line of sight into those devices; and a ticketing system with physical drop-off locations at each campus.
"Don't just drop it off," Instructional Technology Specialist Laura Horn said. "If you put something in that box that doesn't have a ticket on it, it's going right back to you."
Campus-Based Device Managers
Rather than centralizing all device management, Longview designates "Chromebook Wranglers" at each campus — typically, librarians — to handle distribution, collection and first-line troubleshooting. Each wrangler receives a QR code scanner, which costs approximately $60, to eliminate manual data entry errors.
"Manual entry fails because you have these devices that end up being 'ghost devices,'" Horn explained. "Otherwise, an S will look like a 5, a zero like an O. It's just easier to use that scanner."
DIVE DEEPER: Learn more about device ecosystem solutions.
Automation Through System Integration
Longview integrates its asset tracking system, Destiny Resource Manager, with Google Admin Console via API. When a device is marked lost in Destiny, it automatically disables in Google Admin Console. This eliminated what had previously been hours of weekly manual work for technicians.
Organizational Units as Force Multipliers
Horn emphasized the importance of properly structured Organizational Units in Google Admin Console.
"You need multiple Organizational Units, not just one districtwide OU," she said.
During state assessment tests, for example, Longview needs testing software on only specific devices, not districtwide. Proper OU architecture allows targeted software deployment without manual intervention or classroom disruption.
Gopher for Chrome, a paid extension purchased through CDW, simplifies some of these processes by allowing bulk device changes via spreadsheet rather than clicking through individual records. This makes it possible to identify and move a set of specific device serial numbers into a different OU to get certain apps or upgrades.
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