All Fulton middle and high school students will have greater access to Chromebooks in the upcoming school year.
The Fulton Public Schools Board of Education voted during its Wednesday meeting to purchase 348 Chromebooks at $97,092. With the purchase, Chromebooks will be in the hands of each middle and high school student when at school and home. The board also approved spending an estimated $30,000 for Chromebook cases and management software for all district devices at an estimated $9,977. The money will be taken out of the 2016 fiscal year capital expenditures.
The 2015-16 academic year will be the first for the one-to-one initiative in both buildings. The initiative is an educational trend that allows student access to technology to further educational goals inside and outside of school.
While the board easily approved the expenditure to support the one-to-one initiative, concerns were raised about a fee to cover damages. Before students take Chromebooks home, parents and guardians must sign an agreement that covers student responsibilities for the device. Then, parents and guardians can choose to pay a technology damage waiver option at a rate of $30 per student or $60 per household on an annual basis. Superintendent Jacque Cowherd said the funds will go into a separate account that will cover cost of repairs. After discussion, the board approved the waiver fee.
Anyone that does not pay the waiver, as discussed Wednesday night, would pay the full amount for damages. If a Chromebook needs replacement in the case of abuse, misuse or being lost and a parent or guardian cannot afford the replacement, the student can only use the technology at school.
The waiver fee did not initially sit well with board member Rodney Latty, who said the fee seemed like the district was charging students to participate in their education. Board members questioned if they could table the motion covering the waiver fee and explore other possibilities, but they will not meet again until August and needed to take a vote Wednesday night.
"I can't believe I'm charging a student $30 to come to school," Latty said when the board started discussion of the waiver fee.
Administrators emphasized to the board that the fee is optional. Beth Houf, Fulton Middle School principal, brought up the point that textbooks have no insurance policy and students are responsible to pay for damages or replacements. Assistant Superintendent Suzanne Hull said textbooks can be as expensive as $175. Dan Hedgepath, director of technology, told the Fulton Sun the district has not yet explored any reimbursement options for the waiver fee in case Chromebooks were to come back damage-free when returned.
What qualifies as misuse, abuse or accidental is defined in the agreement, which states students should not attempt to repair or physically modify the Chromebook, leave it outdoors, leave it in extreme temperatures or place it near food or drink. It also states that if the Chromebook needs replacement due to damage, theft or loss then an additional insurance fee will be required before the student can receive another. If a student intentionally damages, destroys, steals or does not return the Chromebook, he or she could face criminal charges. In any case of theft, a police report will be required. The agreement outlines the do's and don'ts for Chromebook usage, but Hedgepath said there are still some what-if factors that need to be clarified.
Board members questioned and discussed usage in detail at the meeting because the 2015-16 school year is the first students will be allowed to bring home Chromebooks.
The district also discussed using a third-party company for insurance purposes. Fulton Public Schools would contract with the company, and then parents could sign up for the service. Parents would take out an insurance policy. When there's damage, the district would submit a claim and the company would charge the parents. With this option, there would always be a deductible. To his knowledge, Hedgepath said this would have been a more costly avenue for parents.
Leading up to the school year, the district will seek parental input on the one-to-one initiative and Chromebook usage. Hedgepath said a questionnaire will be sent to parents through email and will be available through the Fulton Public Schools app.
Chromebooks were first implemented in the district three years ago, according to Hedgepath, starting out with testing in individual elementary classrooms. Currently, the district has about 1,800 Chromebooks.