# Tennessee Schools Assess Technology Risks

A former Rutherford County school board member argues that Tennessee school districts’ reliance on Microsoft and other concentrated technology providers may increase cybersecurity exposure, costs, and barriers to switching. The article points to a Sumner County network incident that delayed the school year and Rutherford County Schools’ 2024 cyberattack, which led to outside incident-response services costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. It identifies no new solicitation, but highlights procurement considerations around provider concentration, cyber response, backup resilience, and competitive sourcing of education technology.

- Rutherford County Schools’ post-incident spending shows that cyber incidents can create substantial unplanned costs beyond the underlying technology contract.
- Procurement teams and education technology contractors may find demand for incident response, resilient backup systems, and services that support transitions between providers.
- Districts evaluating technology procurements can assess switching costs, cybersecurity resilience, and provider concentration alongside price and functionality.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Education
**Topics:** Cybersecurity, Digital Infrastructure
**Published:** October 30, 2026

### Government Entities
- Rutherford County Schools
- Rutherford County Board of Education
- Sumner County Schools

### Vendors
- Microsoft (incumbent)

### Sources
- [Tennessee schools rely on Microsoft. Taxpayers bear the risk](https://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/opinion/contributors/2026/10/30/microsoft-tennessee-schools-cybersecurity-costs/92510658007) - The Leaf Chronicle | Clarksville, TN