Charlestown will help pay for laptops for middle-schoolers

Clark County

Discussion

September 15, 2009

One-to-one initiative gets unanimous approval Monday

By BRADEN LAMMERS The News and Tribune Tue Sep 15, 2009, 12:27 AM EDT

A parade of supporters stepped up to the microphone Monday night to urge the Charlestown City Council to approve an interlocal agreement regarding the one-to-one computer initiative with the Greater Clark County Schools.

After students, teachers, administrators and Charlestown residents made their appeals and gave their testimonials, the council unanimously approved the measure. The interlocal agreement was originally tabled a week ago because of the short time frame in which some city council members said they had to review the plan.

In addition, several council members voiced qualms about entering into a second agreement with the school board when they were still fighting over the unresolved land swap.

“This was brought to us Tuesday night ... but the actual funding part had never come to us,” said Jeff Aaron, council member. “This has probably been the hardest vote I’ve ever had to take. We have been in [dispute] with Greater Clark County Schools with the land swap agreement, they’ve taken our pool away [and] if they found money to fund the highest paid superintendent in Southern Indiana, they need $84,000 from us?” he asked rhetorically.

The council agreed to separate the two issues, holding an executive session before the council meeting to discuss the land swap.

“I would be the first to admit Greater Clark County should fund this,” said Mayor Bob Hall. “We do have a long history here of not getting everything they get at the other end of this county. We don’t deserve that,” he said, becoming visibly emotional.

“When this happened, I saw an opportunity for our community to have something,” he said.

The first motion — that requested funding come out of tax-increment financing, or TIF, funds — offered by Council President Mark Goodlett failed for a second, but became moot because the motion passed as was previously presented to the council Sept. 8.

The final questions of funding methods will be answered by the Charlestown Redevelopment Commission at 10 a.m. today, as they can vote to allocate the money.

What is known is the city will pay $84,000 over three years — $28,000 per year — for the program.

“In the back of my mind, I just wanted to make sure the ‘i’s’ were dotted and the ‘t’s’ were crossed with this issue,” Goodlett said.

Approval means that seventh- and eight-grade students will get their own laptops — with the option of taking them home — and sixth-graders will have laptops at their disposal during school hours.

The school board for Greater Clark voted 5-2 last week to implement the program, which will cost about $600,000 over three years. The board’s vote came with the understand Charlestown would chip in the $84,000.

Laptops will begin to be handed out at the high school the week of Oct. 12 and for the middle school sometime in January, school officials said.

“Hopefully this will be a turning point in our community,” Goodlett said.