Sales tax funds laptops in Orange County Schools

Orange County Schools sent its students back to school with a little more edge this year.

As part of its 1:1 Laptop Initiative, the district issued 4,100 laptops to its middle and high school students to revamp the way its students learn.

The program began last year after the school system experienced decreased funding for textbooks.

Michael Gilbert, spokesman for the district, said the system only had $14.82 per student to purchase textbooks for the 2012-13 academic year.

The projected cost of the program is about $2.6 million, and each of the Lenovo laptops cost the system $636.

The school system also provided 4,100 protective backpacks at $50 each, totalling $205,000.

Gilbert said the laptops program was primarily funded by the county’s newly implemented quarter-cent sales tax, which provided almost $500,000 for this school year.

The quarter-cent sales tax was passed in November 2011 after statewide budget cuts to education hurt local public schools. It is expected to raise $2.5 million for economic development and education.

Orange County Commissioner Barry Jacobs said the district told the board it wanted to use the money for technology, but never specified how it would be used.

But Jacobs said he is pleased with the program.

“It certainly would give an advantage to children from underprivileged families,” he said.

And principals in the system said they have already seen improvement in the classrooms.

“If you were to walk around our building right now you would see laptops being used in every classroom,” said Anne Purcell, principal of C.W. Stanford Middle School.

Gilbert also said students seem excited about the opportunity to use laptops in the classroom.

“Students can work on it at home and bring problems into class,” said Gilbert. “Students can share documents in real time with their teachers.”

Children are able to take the laptops home to work on projects and homework throughout the academic year, but the laptops have to be returned in June to be updated.

Any damage done to the laptops is covered by a $25 insurance fee, which can be waived for students who are unable to afford it.

Providing middle and high school students with laptops is the second phase of the district’s laptop initiative, which aims to provide students from fourth through twelfth grades and faculty with a laptop.

“It’s a wonderful program, it opens up a whole new world for our kids,” said Purcell. “They’ve got lots and lots of information right there in front of them.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.