(Graettinger)– Another local school district is moving forward with a proposal to provide laptop computers to students in grades five through 12.
The Graettinger/Terril school board recently voted four-to-two to approve such a proposal.
The initiative will cost the district about 117-thousand dollars a year over the next four years, for a total of 464-thousand dollars. Superintendent Randy Collins says the district will cover the cost through the state penny sales tax, adding it will not impact property tax payers.
Under the proposal, teachers will receive laptops and training this spring, with students receiving the machines on the first day of school for the 2010-2011 school year.
Collins says policies will be in place under which administrators will have to meet accountability requirements and make sure the computers are used appropriately and that teachers are implementing the training they receive in the classroom.
Voters in the Spirit Lake School District last week approved a Physical Plant and Equipment Levy at a rate of 65 cents per thousand dollars valuation over the next three years to fund a laptop initiative and upgrade technology in that district.
