I had a similar experience in the early 90s (II followed by 68K Macs (LCIIs) and a few molar macs), but by '98 (HS for me) they were buying pallets full of Gate

I had a similar experience in the early 90s (II followed by 68K Macs (LCIIs) and a few molar macs), but by '98 (HS for me) they were buying pallets full of Gateway and Dell desktops which gradually replaced the Mac labs. My guess on causes in no particular order: 1. Apple got stingier in the discounting 2. They faced more aggressive competition from PC vendors and weren't willing to eat any additional margin by increasing their subsidy 3. What I suspect is the case: Schools looked around, compared Windows 95 vs Mac OS 7 and 8, looked at Apple's business marketshare (nil) and their shrinking consumer marketshare, and concluded Apple was lost in the wilderness and teaching kids to use Macs was pointless. Even as an Apple admirer at the time (couldn't afford one though) I can understand the decision.