One question I get asked a lot from Missouri school districts is how do I find a tech director? Typically, it's because their current employee received a different job, or they are struggling with some aspects of their position. Finding high quality IT staff for technology support and services is very difficult for Missouri public school administrators. There are simply more jobs than technicians and schools end up settling for someone who doesn't know what they are doing, or they have never worked in a school. Many people can interview well, but when the rubber meets the road, the technician can't get the job done and make staff happy. The technology landscape has changed rapidly over the last few years and finding one technician that can support teachers and staff, stay on top of cybersecurity needs, federal grants, and manage all the servers and network equipment in a school district is a massive challenge. The simple fact is very few people in the technology industry have the professional skills to manage all the aspects of a school district's technology. No matter what they say in the interview, be cautious.
If it is possible to find someone that can take care of all the IT Support Services needs for a school district, you can count on a significant salary that is often comparable or larger than administrative staff salaries within the Public School District. For simple math purposes let's say a small Missouri school district would like to hire a person for $45,000 to fill a technology director position. First, it is unlikely you would find a high-quality certified technology director in this salary range. Particularly one that can do administrator level technology director duties. When you add roughly 25% to the salary for benefits, your cost will be roughly $56,000. You will also need to factor in a retirement plan and add another 10 to 15%. This puts the salary and benefits at a total spend near $65,000 annually. We're seeing more technical millennials and Gen Zs that are not as motivated for benefits while being more motivated in the salary and take-home pay.
A co-managed IT service and support solution might be the best fit for your school district. At Midwest Computech we work with this approach often. This is when the school district hires a local IT maintenance person that can work on simple end-user issues. The positions are typically filled by someone in your community that has a passion for technology but may not have worked in the field. We've seen paraprofessional, janitorial staff, library aids and others become successful in these positions. The school then partners with our technology support team to provide administrative level duties for managing the district's servers, network, wireless, budgeting, long-term planning, and more. Making Midwest Computech part of your school IT staff can position your district for long term success. We can help you save money by avoiding expensive purchase for technology you don't need. We can streamline your technology department with our years of school IT experiences. If you would like a free consultation, please contact us today.
