On Nov. 14, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) voted down an initiative of approving the allocation of money to buy tablet computers for students from K-12. The Bond Oversight Committee denied the plan with a vote of 7 to 3, one vote short of the 8 needed according to committee bylaws. The failure of this rather impetuous effort was a good one, and subsequent measures for similar funds allotment should be denied.
Superintendent John Deasy expressed a rather sudden desire to give each student in LAUSD a tablet, or a similar device, and someone needed to slow him down. The implications of such financial commitment would be absolutely devastating. Approximately 700,000 pieces of equipment would cost about $450 million.
Furthermore, wireless Internet installation and usage fees would peak to more than $200 million. Supt. Deasy’s initial request was only set for $17.4 million – in order for the district to get anywhere close to the needed money is utterly impossible. Many critics of the plan also note that numerous school days were cut during the year because of the district’s financial losses, and it seems counterintuitive for $17.4 million to be spent on an unrealistic goal.
During the board meeting when the proposal was first shared, Supt. Deasy failed to even detail the logistics of such a plan. How does LAUSD provide insurance for lost or broken devices? Furthermore, would students be required to take the device home each day? Then what about students who can’t afford Internet at home? These and countless other questions continue to boggle the minds of school administrators.
Forget for a second that buying tablets is financially or logistically troublesome: such use of funds is illegal. According to a recent Los Angeles Times report, “bonds are intended to pay for capital expenditures – construction, purchase and renovation of land, buildings and durable equipment.” The purchase of technological device for the aid of students’ studies doesn’t constitute an appropriate use of school bond money.
The effort to increase the standard of education for Los Angeles’ students is indeed a commendable one – facts like these do need to be acknowledged. However, the financial burden that would result from the purchase of so many digital devices, and above all, the practical problems that this would pose render it inopportune at the moment.
