MONROE - All students at Monroe High School will be issued Chromebooks next school year, but whether students will be assessed a special fee for the computer notebook remains to be seen.
The Monroe school board unanimously voted Monday to purchase 800 Google Chromebooks for the coming year under a three-year lease. The board's policy committee is expected to take up the fee issue in June. It will also consider a policy to handle students who want to use their own notebook or laptops instead of the district-issued device.
Going with the three-year lease instead of the four-year option also considered allows the district to upgrade to newer technology sooner, MHS principal Chris Medenwaldt said.
Each Chromebook will cost $237. The district will also be required to pay Google a one-time management fee of $27 per device. Under the lease agreement, the district will pay about $211,000 over the course of three years. At the end of that term, the district could allow students and staff to purchase the devices, at fair market value, estimated to be between $20 and $50.
The cost will be taken from the district's technology budget, which stands at about $840,000 under next year's initial budget.
Not included is the cost of a protective case for each device. Medenwaldt said several options are available, but estimated a suitable case would cost about $25 per Chromebook.
Before the vote to approve the lease, board president Bob Erb said he feels strongly the district should look at assessing an additional fee for all students to help cover the lease cost. He said he wasn't tied to a particular dollar amount, but assessing students one-third the cost, with the district picking up the remaining two-thirds, "seems reasonable."
Erb suggested the Chromebook fee at the board's April meeting. A decision on the Chromebooks was postponed until the May meeting to give the district time to consider a possible fee, whether outright purchase or leasing would be more beneficial and if Chromebooks should go to all MHS students or just underclassmen.
Erb said the fee should be considered, given the district's budget deficit of $1.8 million this year. Initial budget projections show the district will be able to reduce that deficit, but it is still looking at a potential budget deficit of $1 million for next year.
But school board treasurer Brian Keith said he is struggling with the idea of an additional fee. "I think that number is going to have to be pretty low," he said of a Chromebook fee.
Keith also said he preferred the high school roll out Chromebooks to just freshmen and sophomores. However, previous discussions indicated there are numerous multi-grade level courses at the high school level, and teachers would have a difficult time using the Chromebooks if not all students had access to them.
The Monroe school board unanimously voted Monday to purchase 800 Google Chromebooks for the coming year under a three-year lease. The board's policy committee is expected to take up the fee issue in June. It will also consider a policy to handle students who want to use their own notebook or laptops instead of the district-issued device.
Going with the three-year lease instead of the four-year option also considered allows the district to upgrade to newer technology sooner, MHS principal Chris Medenwaldt said.
Each Chromebook will cost $237. The district will also be required to pay Google a one-time management fee of $27 per device. Under the lease agreement, the district will pay about $211,000 over the course of three years. At the end of that term, the district could allow students and staff to purchase the devices, at fair market value, estimated to be between $20 and $50.
The cost will be taken from the district's technology budget, which stands at about $840,000 under next year's initial budget.
Not included is the cost of a protective case for each device. Medenwaldt said several options are available, but estimated a suitable case would cost about $25 per Chromebook.
Before the vote to approve the lease, board president Bob Erb said he feels strongly the district should look at assessing an additional fee for all students to help cover the lease cost. He said he wasn't tied to a particular dollar amount, but assessing students one-third the cost, with the district picking up the remaining two-thirds, "seems reasonable."
Erb suggested the Chromebook fee at the board's April meeting. A decision on the Chromebooks was postponed until the May meeting to give the district time to consider a possible fee, whether outright purchase or leasing would be more beneficial and if Chromebooks should go to all MHS students or just underclassmen.
Erb said the fee should be considered, given the district's budget deficit of $1.8 million this year. Initial budget projections show the district will be able to reduce that deficit, but it is still looking at a potential budget deficit of $1 million for next year.
But school board treasurer Brian Keith said he is struggling with the idea of an additional fee. "I think that number is going to have to be pretty low," he said of a Chromebook fee.
Keith also said he preferred the high school roll out Chromebooks to just freshmen and sophomores. However, previous discussions indicated there are numerous multi-grade level courses at the high school level, and teachers would have a difficult time using the Chromebooks if not all students had access to them.