VT Purchasing Consortia Increases Spending Power of Rural Districts

Vermont has a total student population of approximately 83,000 – equal to that of a single large urban school district – spread out across several districts within the state. But the smaller size of these often-rural districts doesn’t stop them from provisioning access to technology tools at a fair price for all students. Through Vita-Learn, a statewide non-profit dedicated to professional learning, innovative practices, and improved use of edtech, member districts can take advantage of these tools at fractions of the price any of the smaller districts or schools could negotiate on their own. Consortia like Vermont’s can also create the secondary benefit of a common set of tools used across districts in a region or state, increasing the chance an educator or student moving from one district to another will have familiarity with these tools and decreasing the costs in time and money in getting new teachers up to speed with a school or district’s array of resources.