Thanks for all your feedback. We are going to meet with the Nearpod team soon and attempt to put additional pressure to lower pricing. I think everyone indicated they were good with option 3, so this pressure might include an RFP. There is a possibility that
another competitor wins out on that though. I will keep you all updated as we make progress.
We’ve continued discussions with the Nearpod team, but unfortunately, we have not made much progress. One of the primary challenges is how licensing must be structured. We had initially been told that Silver, Gold, and Premium subscription tiers were available;
however, they have since clarified that those options are no longer being offered to us.
As things currently stand, we have a few potential paths forward:
Option 1:
Use the $500,000 to purchase licenses directly. At the current rate, this would cover approximately 83,300 student licenses statewide. Because licensing must be applied at the school level, we cannot distribute smaller portions (e.g., 500 licenses) to an LEA.
In practice, this means some LEAs—such as single-school charters—could be fully funded, while larger districts may only be able to cover one or a few schools.
Option 2:
Apply the $500,000 as a subsidy and have Nearpod offer a reduced rate of $3 per student to LEAs. Licenses would still need to be purchased at the school level under this model.
Option 3:
Issue an RFP to explore whether we can secure a lower cost from Nearpod or open the opportunity to other vendors. I believe this is a viable option, though we would need to confirm alignment with legislative requirements.
I would appreciate your feedback on these options. Since this funding is intended to support your needs, I want to ensure we move in a direction that is most beneficial and practical for you.
Thank you,
Justin Brooksby
Associate Director
Ed. Tech Solutions
