Can a $60 million tech contract finally stop Chicago’s public schools from losing thousands of laptops and tablets? The city’s latest gamble may say as much about Chicago’s love/hate relationship with technology as it does about missing devices.
Tracking Down the Problem: From Pandemic Panic to Policy Overhaul
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has announced plans to pay CDW—one of its largest technology suppliers—up to $60 million over four years for a shiny new solution: automatic tracking of every tablet, laptop, and tech gadget distributed to students and staff. The school board is expected to vote on this contract later this month, aiming to bolster their device inventory and stop the worrying bleed of school-issued hardware into the mysterious tech void.
This move is not happening in a vacuum. In late 2022, Chalkbeat and WBEZ reporting, followed by a 2024 inspector general report, revealed that CPS officials were losing track of thousands of devices purchased during the pandemic’s $308 million technology spending spree. The watchdog didn’t mince words: these losses were unacceptable, with little accountability in sight.
So what changed? In January 2024, mere days after the inspector general’s critical report, CPS rolled out a host of policy tweaks: new staff training and a more serious stance on holding personnel accountable. Apparently, accountability pays off. The number of missing devices has dropped as CPS leaned on electronic locating, even managing to find gadgets as far as other countries. The inspector general, ever the voice of reason, recently nudged the district to either resolve its issues with the previous tracking vendor or select a new one. Enter, stage left: CDW.
A Price Tag with Strings Attached
CDW’s $60 million contract, spread over four years, isn’t pocket change—it’s $15 million per year in a district with no shortage of financial hurdles. At a recent school board meeting, the price tag went curiously unscrutinized. But not all was quiet: Ed Bannon, a board member from the Northwest Side, asked a question on everyone’s mind—why not the cheaper option?
Paul Valente, CPS’ facilities automation architect, originally claimed CDW had made the lowest bid. However, officials later admitted there had been a lower-cost proposal. CPS clarified that four vendors submitted bids, but those details will remain under wraps until after a contract is signed. Suspense, anyone?
RFID: Magic Wand or Mirage?
The CDW solution relies on radio frequency identification (RFID) tags already attached to many CPS devices. The promise? Real-time automatic tracking. Devices sneaking out of school without permission could be spotted instantly and recovered more swiftly. Plus, taking those yearly inventories just got a lot less headache-inducing.
But is RFID enough to end the disappearing device dilemma? Skeptics aren’t scarce. As one observer, Epstein, bluntly put it: “Chicago has a history of purchasing asset management technology and not using it properly. An RFID system automates the counting of devices, but it does not eliminate the humans. Even a great technology that’s poorly implemented is useless.”
The human factor looms large. CPS employs around 150 technology coordinators, based on the district’s most recent staffing numbers—a slight decrease from pre-2020 levels, when device buying spiked due to COVID. In years past, investigations unearthed a pattern of poor tracking, with countless devices unused or lost. The inspector general found CPS deemed 77,000 devices lost or stolen in just 2021 and 2022. That’s enough laptops to fill quite a few classrooms… or a tech-savvy escape room.
Measuring Progress—One Device at a Time
Despite these sobering figures, CPS appears to be turning the corner. Officials told Chalkbeat last week that several initiatives are already underway to safeguard their impressive arsenal of more than 636,000 devices and cut down on losses. Thanks to these efforts, the district now pegs the annual loss rate at 7%, down from 11% in the latest report by the inspector general. The hope is that the new contract will be “a key component of this continued progress.”
- Track devices leaving school buildings in real time
- Enable quicker recovery of lost gadgets
- Simplify annual inventory processes
Still, questions remain over whether the district will make the most of this costly investment—or be repeating yet another cycle of tech-forgetting déjà vu.
The bottom line: Technology may be flashy, but accountability is priceless. Let’s hope, for students, staff, and city taxpayers alike, that CPS is ready to use its new high-tech toy for more than just counting—maybe this time, they’ll keep it from disappearing too.
