Consolidating an EdTech portfolio you inherited

Most technology leaders inherit a portfolio rather than build one: tools purchased across several administrations, budget cycles, and grant windows, each with a constituency.

Start with facts, not opinions. Build a single inventory of every platform with cost, contract end date, license count, actual active usage, data-sharing scope, and the instructional purpose it claims to serve.

Overlap becomes obvious quickly. Where two tools serve one purpose, the decision criteria should be stated publicly: usage, instructional fit, interoperability, accessibility, and total cost — in that order.

Retire on the calendar, not on the contract. Announce sunsets a semester ahead, provide a migration path and a named support contact, and never remove a tool from teachers mid-unit.

Consolidation savings should be visibly reinvested — in professional learning, devices, or the platform staff actually asked for. Portfolios stay clean when teachers see what the discipline bought them.