The COVID-inspired rush to distance learning is putting pressure on already-strained IT budgets in school districts nationwide as educators strive to provide students with needed devices and online tools. That comes on top of the $13 billion districts already spend on ed tech tools each year. Over the past five years, K–12 technology spending grew more than 8.6 percent a year, Technavio reports.

Eventually, there will come a reckoning. IT leaders need to be able to justify the return on investment for their efforts — in ordinary times, and especially during the present flurry of unanticipated expenses.

A thoughtful approach to IT deployments, coupled with digital analysis tools, can help IT leaders better track and explain their technology spending.

MORE ON EDTECH: Read why school tech and business leaders should be partners.

The Value of Taking Tech Inventory

For many, the ROI equation begins with an understanding of the existing technology inventory. When Joe Phillips became K–12 technology director at Kansas City Public Schools in Missouri, he didn’t even have that much to work with.

“There was no inventory of anything. Nobody could tell me how many network switches we had, what servers we had, how many devices we had. And I had no idea where the money that came into my department was going every year,” he told EdTech.

To determine ROI, he and other ed tech leaders say, it’s crucial to first establish that baseline inventory. From there, projects must be scrutinized on an individual basis for their financial viability.