In its monthly meeting, the Talawanda School Board approved a measure to put new Apple laptops into the hands of some faculty members, and new iPads and Chromebooks into the hands of students.
The total cost, estimated to be more than $600,000, will be covered by various grants and other planned funds, according to the proposal.
In total, the district intends to purchase 800 Chromebooks, 50 Lenovo Thinkstation desktop computers, 25 Lenovo M70q Tiny desktops and 460 Apple devices, including 110 MacBook Airs and 350 iPads. Apple laptops are primarily for faculty members, while the Chromebooks will be for student use.
“The student version of the Chromebook is a lot different from what the teacher would require,” board member Pat Meade said. The choice of Chromebooks for students and Apple laptops for faculty is also a cost-saving measure, according to Superintendent Ed Theroux.
“It’s a much cheaper base model,” Theroux said.
The board estimates a cost of about $368 each for the 800 Chromebooks and about $979 for 110 MacBook Airs.
The board also said it would only purchase Lenovo-brand Chromebooks to ensure that there are no discrepancies between student machines.
“We are very specific on that so we have a consistent product within our district,” Shaunna Tafelski, the board’s treasurer, said.
According to Theroux, this practice also helps the district with IT maintenance.
According to Tafelski, computers that are retired by the district are sold after data is deleted.
Also in the meeting, the board approved a memorandum of understanding with the Butler County Educational Service Center to provide therapeutic education, at a cost of $131,375 for four students. According to Theroux, this is necessary to ensure their proper education.
“These students are not successful and do not belong in a traditional public school due to their severe needs,” he said. “There are going to be students, no matter what we do, we cannot bring in. They have to be in a residential-type setting.”
The district will also provide transportation for the students using these services. The cost for this transportation was not included in the memorandum.
The board also approved course fees for the district. The course fees largely stayed the same as the previous year.
