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When budgets are tight, buying refurbished technology or leasing it can help you outfit your classrooms for less. Here’s what you need to know.

School budgets run the gamut. While some districts are making headlines for large technology purchases, others are struggling to put computers in the classroom. Yet, providing access to technology continues to be a major goal for many K-12 schools. If you can’t afford to purchase the latest iPad or Chromebook for each student, what should you do?

Fortunately, there are alternatives to purchasing new school technology. You could choose to buy refurbished equipment or even lease technology, spreading the payments out over several years. Here’s what you need to know about both options.

Refurbished Tech

“Refurbished” tends to carry a negative connotation for some end users, even if it shouldn’t. That’s why Robert Baker. Co-founder of Mac-to-School, a company that sells refurbished Apple products exclusively to the K-12 market, prefers the term “re-certified.” He explains the problem like this:

“When you buy a refurbished machine from the Apple store, those are units that were sent back because there was a problem. They were fixed and then made available for less. The reason we started to hone in on “re-certify” is most of the equipment we get has absolutely nothing wrong with it. They are not broken units we are now selling into education.” Baker is quick to point out that there is nothing wrong with Apple selling fixed equipment, it all depends on the type of warranty and service that is offered to the customer after the fact.

Much of the technology Baker receives comes from schools that have a relatively short refresh cycle, meaning they are able to update their technology faster than most schools. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with the units, but they aren’t the latest model on the market. Those machines are then purchased by Mac-to-School, examined by an Apple certified technician and checked to make sure they are in working order. The units are then fully cleaned and detailed. Any minor cosmetic issues are also taken care of at that time.

“The products we buy go through a grading-scale,” says Baker. “We take the “Grade A” ones, check everything out on them, back them with a warranty and offer them for a really great price.”

A common misconception is that a “refurbished” device may be beat up or slow. End users are worried they may be sacrificing quality, but in reality this isn’t true. While you may not have the newest model device in your classrooms, you will have high quality products that meet your computing needs at a much more reasonable price for districts with a tight budget.

“Refurbished technology delivers significant savings, 50 to 70 percent over new computers, so schools can purchase a larger quantity of machines for a lot less money,” says Marc Netka, CEO, School Tech Supply.

School Tech Supply is a Southern California based company that provides refurbished Windows machines and leased technology to schools. They operate a little differently than Mac-to-School in that their computers are acquired from corporations. Those corporations typically lease equipment for three years. School Tech Supply then purchases those leased computers and puts them through a rigorous inspection and testing process. Like Mac-to-School, they are selling quality, high-end machines and as a Microsoft Registered Refurbisher, the computers they sell are legally licensed Windows Pro 7 devices.

With the upcoming onset of Common Core, schools are being pushed more than ever to adopt technology—and at a fast pace.

“Education Technology is big news these days. Pressure is mounting to improve the country’s lag in computers and other technology in our schools,” explains Netka. “Common Core and other education-focused testing, encouraging a 2-to-1 student-to-computer ratio, are putting additional pressure on already shrinking budgets. Buying refurbished equipment can help fulfill those requirements.”

The reduced price of refurbished equipment allows districts to put in technology that was previously cost-prohibitive. This was certainly the case for East Gibson School District, which has purchased refurbished iMacs and Macbooks for the last few years.

“In Indiana, our public education funding is being cut. We’re a small school corporation. We’re around 1,000 students and we’re under some pretty severe budget constraints,” says Gary Horrall, IT coordinator, East Gibson School District. “From a budgetary standpoint, it just made sense for us to go the refurbished route.”

Horrall has been extremely happy with the performance of his refurbished computers and says he wouldn’t hesitate to continue to purchase more laptops or desktops this way.

Leasing Technology

The other option school districts have is to lease technology. This might be the better option if your goals require you to have the latest and greatest technology. For example, if you’re trying to outfit a video editing lab, it probably makes sense to go with newer equipment that can handle that sort of specialized need. If you can’t afford to outright buy the products, then leasing the computers makes sense.

“Leasing has several advantages over outright purchases. For one, it preserves cash flow. Lease terms are usually for 36 months, which allows you to upgrade your technology every three years as needs change,” says Netka.

An added benefit is that leases are generally considered operational expenses rather than a purchase, which comes out of capital expenditure funds.

The faster refresh cycle is one reason Horrall decided to lease iPads this year as part of East Gibson’s move towards 1:1. The district is doing a standard three year lease through Apple.

“On things like the desktops and laptops I’ve been very happy with the refurbished technology because we get more bang for our buck,” says Horrall. “But with something that changes pretty rapidly like iPads or notebook-type devices, I think that’s a situation where, to keep up with what’s going on, you’d want to considering leasing new ones.”

Baker, too, realizes that going the refurbished route doesn’t make sense in every situation. In the previous example of trying to outfit a video editing lab, Baker sees it like this:

“For the high-end applications, you need the best stuff. You’re absolutely going to go to Apple, but maybe the way you get there is by going for some refurbished equipment on some of your other applications so you have budget leftover to then get that [high-end] stuff.”

In the end, there is no right or wrong method of putting technology into your classroom, as long as you take your budget and your goals into account. The important thing to remember is that you have options and that purchasing technology doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. The right decision for you is one that is customized to fit your needs.