Technology Hardware

Technology should be available to all students, teachers, administrators and support staff and all computers need to be an integral part of the wide area network.  The 1995 Technology Plan established a standard based of hardware and software that would be provided to all schools.  In 1995, the district owned only 7,400 computers.

With the completion of the NC Annual Media and Technology Report (AMTR) in June 2008, schools report that Guilford County now owns more than 25,000 computers and 99.7% of all classrooms have access to the Internet. 

This section includes the following information for purchase, maintenance and replacement of technology-related hardware in the district.

Hardware Standards
Five-Year Replacement Plan
Computer Repair
Computer Donations
Annual Media and Technology Report

Hardware Standards

Technology Services continues to adopt, review and update standards for the purchase of all hardware used in the district.  Those standards are based on recommendations developed by Office of State Information Technology Services (ITS), the State of North Carolina’s Term Contract for Purchase (SC #204, #205 and #206) and approval of Guilford County Schools’ Technology Applications Review Committee (TARC).

It is the intent of the TARC committee to provide guidelines for a standard and controllable network environment in support of the mission of Guilford County Schools.  The complete Technology Policies, Procedures and Standards Manual includes procedures for all hardware-related issues including purchasing standards, relocation of equipment, disposal of surplus equipment and acceptance of donations.

The complete Technology Policies, Procedures and Standards Manual can be downloaded by selecting the following link:

Technology Policies, Procedures and Standards Manual

School Purchase of Desktop Equipment

If a school or department is interested in purchasing computer equipment, they must contact Technology Services for current specifications and quotes.  Based on Guilford County Schools’ experience with the quality and ongoing support of equipment, they following are approved for purchase:

Specific Models of:
• IBM or Dell desktop computers
• IBM or Dell laptop computers
• Hewlett Packard laser and deskjet printers

Networking Equipment

The following will be purchased and used throughout the district:

• Cisco switches and routers
• Cisco wireless components

Minimum Standards for Networked Computers

Due to increasing requirements to operate new networked applications and upgrades necessary to run state-mandated software, the following minimum standards apply to any computer to be added to the Guilford County Schools’ network.

Specific models of IBM and Dell computers
Pentium IV Processor with a minimum speed of 2.4 GHz
1 GB memory
Internal CD-Rom drive
20 GB hard drive
Gigabit ethernet network adaptor
17” monitor

Five-Year Replacement Plan

In an effort to keep equipment up-to-date, Technology Services has developed a Computer Replacement Plan that defines replacement of all hardware and software in the district.  The replacement schedule outlines replacement of all computers on a school-by-school basis over a five-year timeframe.  Implementation of the plan depends on funding and bond renovation projects.  Technology Services has averaged replacement of more than 5,000 computers each year and has met the posted schedule through June 2008.  

The complete Computer Replacement Plan can be downloaded by selecting the following link:

Computer Replacement Plan

Computer Repair

The district operates a computer repair facility at the Technology Center to provide cost-effective repair of all computer hardware used throughout the district.  The repair technicians have A+ certifications.  The facility has gained service provider certifications with our major vendors (Dell and IBM) and now services our own warranty work.  This results in shorter turnaround for school repairs and has generated funding that is used to purchase repair parts for older machines. 

A budget is maintained for repair parts, for operation of the vans used by the repair technicians and for the salaries of the repair technicians.  Guilford County does outsource repair of specialized equipment such as NCS scanners and the central IBM iSeries 400s. 

Most small items such as print cartridges and batteries are considered supplies and must be purchased by individual school sites.

Requesting Repair (Help Desk System)

All requests for repair from individual users should be coordinated through their School or Department Technology Contact Person.  These persons use a web-based Help Desk System to enter all technology-related requests - hardware issues, installation of software, additional cabling, email problems, etc.  The school contact is able to view the history log of the ticket as it progresses toward completion.  Users are notified via email when a ticket is assigned and completed.

Emergencies or complete outages may be phoned directly to the Help Desk.

Computer Donations

Guilford County Schools is happy to accept donated computers.  However, in order to perform effectively within the Guilford County Schools’ network environment, donated computers must meet performance and license requirements.

The receiving school or department is responsible for all costs associated with placing donated computers in service.  Computers that do not meet hardware purchasing standards or do not met the minimum standards for networking cannot be added to the Guilford County Schools’ network.  Such hardware may be used as a standalone machine.

Annual Media and Technology Report

The NC Annual Media and Technology Report (AMTR) is a legislatively mandated end-of-the-year report for all school districts in North Carolina.  The data collected provides both the Legislature and the public a summary of the state’s technology – equipment and connectivity.  The information is used to complete each school’s and each district’s State Report Card. 

The AMTR provides a valuable measure of each district’s progress in the area of technology,.  With the completion of the 2008 AMTR, schools report that Guilford County now owns more than 25,000 computers and 99.7% of all classrooms have access to the Internet. 

The following table shows the growth in number of computers and connectivity over the past several years.

Based on this report, Guilford County has averaged replacement of over 5,000 computers each year and has practically moved to an all-Windows environment.