Art by Diego Hernandez
By Rory O’Connor
Students returned this fall to new rules and implementations regarding Chromebook distribution.
Before the start of the year, the district announced that students must fill out a technology agreement form and pay a $30 fee in order to acquire a computer. They created the fee as insurance for the computer. If the device breaks and the student is deemed “at fault” but has paid the $30 fee, the first repair is completely covered. If the fee has not been paid, then the repair cost comes out of pocket for the student and will be much more than $30.
“There is a technology fee that is not necessarily connected to getting the Chromebook per se but it is an insurance policy for repairs of the Chromebook.”
Media coordinator Tara Gold is the sole person in charge of managing and distributing Chromebooks this year. When students turn in their forms and complete payment through the payment portal, Gold can then distribute Chromebooks to all homerooms, and students can pick them up from there.
The 1-1 initiative program allows each student to have a personal chromebook provided by the district. DPS implemented it after quarantine, as schools remained online during the 2020-21 school year. However, this last minute resort for online school had no long term plan or money in the budget allocated specifically to keep the 1-1 initiative running for years to come.
Five years later, Chromebook warranties have expired and the district cannot afford to pay out of pocket for lost, stolen, or damaged computers.
“We don’t really have the funds to support [Chromebooks] especially with such a high level of loss,” said Gold.
Last year, only 1300 computers were returned at the end of the school year, Gold reported. This is about three-quarters of the student body.
The new $30 fee has caused some questions about what students who cannot afford to pay this will do, especially if they have no access to a reliable device at home. Dr. Gold understands chromebooks are essential to being able to complete school work. Last year when the school experienced an issue with bed bugs in the chromebooks she had many students come to her trying to find a device they could use to get work done. This new regulation has created a pay-to-participate environment for students.
However, despite the wording of the technology agreement form, this $30 fee is not actually required for students to get a chromebook.
“There is a technology fee that is not necessarily connected to getting the Chromebook, per se, but it is an insurance policy for repairs,” said Gold. “I think they [district leaders] know that people won’t pay it unless they feel that they have to, so they have intentionally been using language that implies that you have to pay.”
The fee was put in place as a solution to avoid abandoning the 1-1 initiative altogether. “There was no good solution, so we’re trying this,” said Gold.
