Submitted by Gina Steele
I attended the RIH Budget presentation so that I could reacquaint myself with the laptop initiative. There were only 20 parents from the 3 towns attending this meeting, and considering the laptop initiative is a controversial subject I thought I would help fill people in on what happened.
First, let me start by saying that the RIH Board made some very good points regarding the pro’s of the students having these laptops (which are the Apple II Mac Books Air).
The cost of $387,000 divided by 2,375 (initial lease for all 4 grades of students at both schools) breaks down to approximately $163/student which is less than a $1/day that they attend school. But the parents and teachers that got up and spoke in opposition of this initiative had some compelling points as to the additional expenses that this will create including the Pandora Box of other issues it will be exposing the students to.
My initial reaction to the purchase of the laptops was wasteful – after all we have a desktop at home, my daughter has her own apple mac laptop, and not to mention her iPhone in which I catch her doing her homework on most of the time. So, is it really necessary for the school to provide yet another device?
The RIH Board’s response to BYOD (Bring your own device) was that it was just not practical for a variety of reasons including it would be difficult for them to require a student to bring their own, parents concerned with damage in transport – who would be responsible for replacing, everyone having the ability to use the same application, viruses etc.
So, that being said, it did make me reconsider the practicality of everyone bringing their own device. The RIH BOE technical support did their homework as far as the choice of the Apple Mac Book instead of iPad regarding in house expertise, reliable product, experience of technical support and the experience of the current teaching staff.
It is true that it would be leased for 4 years with an option to trade up within 2 years if economically responsible. But the parents and teachers who got up to oppose really had major concerns and begged the Board to reconsider without a formal pilot plan to work out the proverbial “bugs in the system”.
One parent specifically seemed to be very well versed in the program having attended a law school which had implemented a similar program. He insisted that the technical support that is currently in place at Ramapo and Indian Hills would not be sufficient to handle the additional 2,375 students with laptops, and they were very misguided if they thought otherwise. He was also concerned were the additional costs to provide charging stations, electrical utility cost etc., that were not factored into the budget.
Other very alarming points were brought up as far as the camera on the device and if this would lead to inappropriate pictures and who would be liable? Surfing web for inappropriate sites (porn) downloading bootleg movies etc. Who would be responsible if lost or damaged for replacement costs?
Teachers spoke out regarding the issues with the current autocad for engineering program and graphic labs – there was some confusion as to whether or not these laptops would be replacing the current curriculum? The RIH technical support point person responded and answered many of the questions that were brought up – He said that the parents would have to take out insurance (cost currently unknown) and they would be implementing policies regarding this.
He also said that there would be a filter in place while the students were in district to block certain sites, but was not confident that they couldn’t find a bypass. The RIH BOE said that eventually the students wouldn’t have to carry books anymore because they could be put on the laptop (going paperless – which I like), but then a teacher spoke out that she was familiar with another school district who did this – but books were still being used in the classroom.
THE RIH BOE said that they have had a committee reviewing this for the last 3 years and that a small “test” group was used of students and teachers and they have discussed all of these issues and they feel as though the positive will prevail over the negative aspects.
The BOE did not have any solid facts as to the “improvement” of learning that this may have on the students. They did mention that some other school districts have had this in place for several years, but they had no data to provide that it had improved “learning” SAT Scores – Test Scores – Student involvement.
I didn’t particularly understand why the RIH BOE was supporting this initiative without the cooperation from the teachers and parents and then someone on the board said that in 2014-15 standardized testing will be taken online. Then it kind of made sense to me – the standardize testing may be provoking this initiative – as we have seen these test in the past dictate what is taught to our students so that our schools (and teachers) can score well.
The RIH was very proud of the fact that their budget did come in with a 1.86% increase which is under the 2% cap – they were also very proud that in 2005 they were ranked 45th highest in the state in regards to cost per pupil, which was $15255 – and in 2011 they moved down 11 positions to 34th in state which is $15610 only an increase of $363 in 6 years.
If they had continued at 45th highest in state we would be looking at a cost of $18K+ per student. The RIH BOE also mentioned that this budget – which was passed – with the laptop initiative will be the first time in 3 years that taxes will have increased (Oakland looking at $2.28 Per house value of $408700) Health benefits were not the driving cost behind the increase, they had remained the same – replenishing the Capitol projects was focus – repairs to Ramapo budget at $1.2 million and IHHS $109,800.
It is important for me to mention that while the role call was being done regarding the voting on the budget their were several members including Sadie Quinlan (of Oakland) and the BOE president that noted as they were voting that just because they are agreeing to pass this budget it doesn’t mean that they are not concerned with the laptop initiative program and the concerns from the parents and teachers that were brought forth tonight – just because they pass the $387,000 for the purchase of the technology – further discussion will be realized before the purchase is actually made.
Please write – email – or go to the next RIH BOE meeting and voice your concerns – It is not too late.
Great report Gina, thank you.
This seems to be a completely unnecessary expense and one that will be a recurring expense each year as the kids enter the high schools not to mention the replacement costs for lost, damaged or defective units. If the parents cannot or will not take on the mentioned insurance cost, who’s going to bear that burden? You guessed it: the taxpayers.
Also, who in their right mind thinks that any kid in today’s world needs help to take a test online? Our kids are so tuned into the internet that the complaints most parents have is to get them off the computer and out into the real world.
Teachers, parents and the students all seem to be against this so why is it being pushed? Perhaps to justify an overstaffed IT department within the district? Hmmmmm…….
I forgot to mention that the gentlemen from Wyckoff, Chris Perry who had attended Ramapo High School and referenced his experience with this initiative for law school mentioned that it would there would definitely be additional cost to update the electric in the school to accommodate charging stations that would be required because the battery would only last 5 hours and less if the students were watching You Tube videos! It was also his personal experience that professors actually had to tell the adults taking his class paying $55K per year to attend to close their computers because they were surfing the web instead of paying attention in class!