Published 6:00 am Wednesday, March 25, 2026
By David Horowitz
Another year for Superintendent Rob Clayton. A new advisory council on AI in classrooms. A surge in prices for RAM and chipsets in the market — anticipated to drive up tech costs districtwide.
The WCPS Board of Education held its regular monthly meeting Monday at Warren Central High. With the District Technology Plan unanimously passed, WCPS Director of Technology Amy Buss also shared tech updates with the Daily News.
Clayton extension
The board extended Clayton’s contract, which was set to end June 30, by one year. He first became superintendent in July 2013, and multiple contracts and an addendum have renewed it since.
The Kentucky Department of Education lists last year’s salary as $273,277.
In June, the WCPS Board of Education determined Clayton’s annual performance over the 2024-25 school year to be “exemplary,” the top rating, in its two evaluation standards for superintendents — strategic and instructional leadership. That evaluation had cited numerous accomplishments, including planning the Impact Center for Leadership and Innovation, focusing on WCPS’s Leader in Me leadership program, and much more.
In 2022, the National Association of School Superintendents recognized Clayton as the National Superintendent of the Year.
AI Advisory Council
WCPS plans for a new advisory council to begin meeting in summer that will look at AI in the district, Buss said.
It will provide viewpoints on how AI looks in subjects such as math and across various primary, middle and secondary classrooms.
“We wanted input from multiple stakeholders across our district in multiple grade levels,” Buss said.
RAM, chipset prices rise
Among rising tech costs, the most significant at WCPS is a surge in RAM and chipset prices due to manufacturers prioritizing data centers for AI over the technology WCPS uses in its devices, Buss said.
While the increase varies by device, WCPS could see technology costs for affected devices rise by as much as 15% due to the shortage of RAM and chipsets — which could also become unavailable altogether, Buss said.
Far beyond WCPS, the rapid development of data centers has broadly driven up prices of computers, tablets and other devices that use RAM and chipsets.
Ky standards to have AI component
The Kentucky Department of Education is working on new technology standards, with an AI component for each, Buss said.
Once those are released, WCPS will roll those standards out to teachers as well as its AI advisory panel and EdTech Ambassador cohort, she said.
In the annual EdTech Ambassador Program, WCPS’s digital learning coaches train program teachers for one year in implementing technology in classrooms, including in areas like computer science and additive manufacturing, Buss said.
Horowitz writes for the Daily News via a partnership with Report for America.
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