By TARA HETTINGER
In a 5-2 vote Tuesday night, the Greater Clark County Schools board voted to implement the one-to-one computer initiative at Charlestown Middle School.
However, the project will not go on as anticipated, which was to provide a laptop to each student in the school so that they could take them home if they paid for liability insurance.
Assistant Superintendent Travis Haire talked to the board Tuesday about how the project would be funded. He said the district received a $300,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Education. That combined with about $70,000 set aside for the middle school’s professional development and technology and $28,000 from the city of Charlestown each year for the next three years will yield nearly $600,000.
Stephen Daeschner, Greater Clark superintendent, presented a letter to school board members Tuesday night, signed by Charlestown Mayor Bob Hall, which Daeschner says pledges financial backing from the city.
However, at a meeting at about the same time in Charlestown, the city council voted 4-1 to postpone voting for the total of $84,000 in funding for the one-to-one initiative.
The city council is expected to take up the subject again at a Monday meeting.
It’s unclear whether the school board knew about the city tabling the vote on funding as of press time. Calls to two school board members, Christina Gilkey and Bob McEwen — also redevelopment director for the city of Charlestown — and Nick Wiese, president of the teachers union, late Tuesday night and after the meetings were not returned by press time.
Wiese attended both meetings, but did not address the board about the Charlestown council vote at the meeting.
Even if Charlestown funds the project, the $600,000 is not enough to pay for each student to have a computer, Haire said. There will only be enough computers for the seventh- and eighth-grade students to each have a computer to take home, Haire said.
Those in the sixth grade will use computers during the school day, which will be on carts and shared among those classrooms, he said. In total, the middle school would get 420 computers for the seventh- and eighth-graders and 120 computers to be shared by sixth graders.
He said 34 laptops would be used as backups, in case a student needs to borrow one if another is out for repair.
Haire said he’d like to have a laptop for each student, but said the funding just isn’t there.
Daeschner said he didn’t feel the success of program — which already is approved for the city’s high school — required each student to have a computer in the sixth grade. He said it’s about the community’s buy-in on the effort and their support, as well as professional development for the teachers so that they use them more in the classroom. He recommended passing the measure.
Becka Christensen, a board member who voted no, asked numerous questions to Apple representatives, who are supplying the laptops, such as whether those students who couldn’t afford to pay for the liability insurance would have an equal education. At previous meetings, the cost of the insurance was estimated to be around $100 for the year.
Lisa Nikkel, account manager for Apple, said students could use laptops during the day, but in her experience she has seen that students find a way to raise the money on their own if they have to.
Christensen said after the meeting that she felt that insurance as well as parents feeling the need to pay for Internet among other things put an undue burden on parents, especially those with multiple children in the school. She said the acceptable use policy — which the board unanimously approved — also includes language she doesn’t think children as young as sixth-graders will understand, such as rules against violating copyright law.
“We rushed this program too quickly,” she said.
Ernie Gilbert, board president, was the second no vote.
“I’m concerned that we did not spend enough time before we made this decision,” Gilbert said, adding that the district is in trouble financially and doesn’t need more of a financial burden. “I would much rather see us take our time and work through this. There’s tons of questions that are still unanswered.”
Haire had said previously that if everything goes along well, the program could be started at the middle school in January. Students at the high school are due to get their computers in October.
McEwen said at the meeting he hopes this project goes well so that it can be expanded.
“My hope and my dream is that every kid in Greater Clark has a laptop,” he said.
Also at the meeting
• The board approved a consulting contract with Marjorie Simic Consulting for $2,000 a day for 23 days. The contract also includes more than $6,000 in travel expenses. Amy Schellenberg, executive director of educational services, said the consultant is needed because of the district being in “corrective action” per No Child Left Behind Act and/or Public Law 221. She said this consultant has worked with other schools in the district in the past.
• The board approved a revised version of a code of ethics policy for school board members. The board eliminated the part saying, “I will act only upon the recommendation of the superintendent in matters of employment or dismissal of school personnel.”
