Thursday, April 2, 1998 | 10:57 a.m.
A subcommittee of the state Commission on Educational Technology approved $1.8 million Wednesday for the Clark County School District to provide training and equipment to about 140 teachers.
The funding is part of $3.7 million available this year for teacher training and professional development so school districts can bring technology into the classroom. Another $4.9 million will be available next year.
In all, the Legislature and Gov. Bob Miller allocated $36.1 million to bring technology to the schools to improve student achievement, one part of the comprehensive Educational Reform Act approved last year.
The biggest chunk of the money, $27.5 million, will be allocated to school districts to purchase computers and related technology. The money has not yet been disbursed.
The money allocated Wednesday is primarily for teacher training, but the Clark County proposal includes the purchase of portable computers for teachers, said Terry Lizotte, one of the district representatives at the meeting.
The portable computers will allow teachers to develop lesson plans at home and use the machines in the classroom, he said, adding that the computers are an integral part of teacher training.
Lizotte said the amount of funding is only a modest beginning for the district to implement its technology plan. The plan calls for one computer for each teacher in the district, one computer for every four elementary students and one for every three secondary students, along with training funds.
The plan will cost in excess of $100 million to implement, Lizotte said. Clark County voters in the last election helped by approving a bond issue that will include the wiring of every school for technology by July 1999.
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