Truth and the fact that Apple seems to be one of the diminishing number of manufactures still making/upgrading new tablet models.

4x the price of some vastly inferior tablets. Don't get me wrong, the margin is still high, but the entry level iPad is well above the specs and build of the Kindle Fire

Please. They lowered the price from $499 for iPad Air 2 w/16gb to $329 for iPad w/32gb. The change in 2017 was to bifurcate the line, targeting general market use and schools with the regular iPad, and creative professionals and higher end market with the pro line. The iPad Air 2 didn't fit that strategy, and schools couldn't afford the $499 entry point of iPads and were going with Chromebooks.

Re: screens, students are really rough on equipment, and laminated screens like those in iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro are quite expensive to replace. The iPad has the glass/digitizer separated from the screen which lowers repair costs significantly.