Glad to hear on the savings there, and always glad to help!
I know you're worried about creating a policy that isn't there, but not saying anything at all could be hazardous to your employment as well if you get caught and terminated for doing so. This one's a judgment call.
I have been thinking about this today, and like the Chromebook suggestion (I run an external hd off our router as a sort of "server") for its quick load and ability to work on most docs/surf the web/watch netflix. What are the major downsides to these?
The major downsides are two-fold:
1) Build quality. Don't kid yourself, these are $200 machines, and manufacturers feel compelled to cheap out on components to maximize profit. They're basically designed to be disposable, but the ChromeOS platform's pretty bulletproof as it's pretty much a glorified appliance.
2) ChromeOS... this is not a real operating system with real applications, but a web browser sitting atop a Linux kernel. It will limit you in what you can do with it to nearly the same level as your iPad.
Realistically, $250 is both a good and bad price point for hardware these days... it keeps overall lifetime ownership costs low for the money spent, but there's no true long-term tool status with the device. Even refurbished, you won't get much more life out of a machine at this price point than you would a new one, and the performance is more than adequate for most tasks for the hardware procured. The problem, then, boils down to what you
can't do with the machine for the money.
If you want a laptop, want to spend about $200-300ish, and want a great deal of flexibility and freedom with software and operating systems and replaceable/repairable parts, get a refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad T61. If you just want something cheap and simple that will just work at what it does best until it breaks, go with a Chromebook. It just boils down to what your needs are
specifically in a computer with a real keyboard and reasonably sized screen.