School District asks for $22.5 million to get computer in every class

Wednesday, May 6, 1998 | 9:14 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Clark County School District has asked a state committee for $22.5 million to put a computer in every classroom.

The request stated the multi-media computers would go first to schools with socio-economic and technology needs, Jhone Ebert, technology coordinator for the district's secondary schools, said.

While the 1997 Legislature allocated $27.5 million for computers, the state Commission on Educational Technology has requests for $46.5 million. Its job is to whittle down the requests to fit within the available funding.

Clark County schools, Ebert said, already have or are spending $60 million annually in local and federal funds on technology. Of that, $23 million is going to wire the schools so the computers can be hooked up to the Internet and other computers in Nevada and out-of-state schools.

The district would pay about $1,700 initially for each computer. Adding network hardware among other items will bring the total cost to $2,606 for each unit.

The district's 11,000 teachers would be taught how to use the computers and how to integrate the use into their lessons. Eventually there would be an evaluation of whether the computers are pushing up test scores.

"Nobody has proven a computer bring up test scores by itself," Ebert said. "There are lots of variables.

"Technology motivates the student to come to school."

The district already has 6,000 Apple computers but they are outdated.

"They are great for keyboarding or working for remediation," Ebert said.

But they don't have the memory needed for Internet access or some of the other features found on the newer models.

The eventual goal of the school district -- which could cost more than $300 million -- is to have one computer per three students in the secondary schools and one computer per four students in the elementary schools.

Computers are like textbooks, Ebert said. Students have to have access to them in order to learn.

Once the state cuts the check, the district could have the computers purchased and in the classrooms within 90 days.