The Clarion-Ledger reported a few weeks ago something that stirred up quite a few people in Rankin County:
"Rankin County School District officials have spent at least $25,000 in federal funds to buy about 50 iPads for principals and district department heads, as well as school board members.
District officials say the gadget, with a price tag starting at about $500, helps educators stay mobile and abreast of new technology....
The district had received about $116,000 in federal E-rate money, a grant used to improve Internet connections and related infrastructure for districts. About $25,000 of that was used to buy iPads for principals who didn't have enough money at their schools to buy the devices, Delaney said...."
Well, it being the Clarion-Ledger, I just knew there was more to the story so I..... longtime JJ readers know what is coming........ submitted a public records request to the Rankin County School District for the federal grant application, the federal grant guidelines, and any applicable user agreements for the ipad users.
Well, it turns out there was no federal grant as reported by the newspaper. Universal Service Administrative Company is a federal agency "that oversees an E-Rate program with the FCC" according to a letter provided to JJ by the District (page 1 of documents below). The District is eligible for discounts on telecommunications plans. It can receive the discount in the form of lower monthly bills or pay the full amount each month and then receive a lump sum rebate at the end of the year from the telecommunications provider. It should be noted that a district has to apply for the rebate in order to receive it. The Department of Education is very aggressive in making sure all Mississippi school districts apply for the discounts.
The District chose the second option and received a rebate of $116,343 (see pages 17 & 19). Amanda Harris, the Technology Coordinator for the District, said $100,000 was spent on network switches for the schools. While the Clarion-Ledger reported over $25,000 was spent on Ipads, the District only spent $16,740. Ms. Harris also informed me the District spoke to the reporter for several hours. Unfortunately for the readers, the newspaper still got it wrong in that there was no federal grant used and the amount was overstated by approximately $10,000. Ms. Harris told this correspondent USAC prefers that any money from said rebates should be spent on technology.
Ms. Harris said the main purpose of the Ipad was to get the principals out of the office and into rest of the school. Principals too often are chained to their desks because so many tasks now require the use of a computer. The Ipads allow the principals to "get out into the field" while staying connected to duties normally handled in the office. If a principal has to stop by a classroom, he can access a student's records on his Ipad. A principal can now take notes while observing a class or handling a problem. That is the logic behind providing the principals with Ipads. Some will wonder why the principals do not instead use laptops. Ms. Harris explained the Ipads have a battery life double that of the laptops, handle most of the tasks required of a laptop, and costs much less than a laptop.
Ms. Harris also said the users do not use 3G networks. Ipads are equipped with either wi-fi or 3G capability. The Districts Ipads are of the wi-fi variety so there are no extra data usage charges since all schools have wi-fi networks. The same technology use policies apply to the Ipads as other District assets.
The District also did not purchase over 50 units as reported by the Clarion-Ledger. Ms. Harris stated in an email to this correspondent today the District purchased 30 Ipads at an average cost of $558 each. The cheapest versions, 16GB, were purchased in ten-packs to reduce the cost even further and warranties were purchased.
It is quite clear the decision to purchase Ipads is a controversial one for many people. Equipping the administrators with new tools if it will help them do their job while freeing them from the office is a respectable goal and should be pursued. However, while it is clear these are tools for principals and other employees, one hopes one man's tool is not a school board member's toy and there are good reasons for providing school board members with Ipads as well. Hope this post clarifies the story somewhat as there were more than a few comments made when I mentioned this a few weeks ago. Time will tell if this was the correct decision.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The RCSD Ipads: The REST of the story.
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20 comments:
While I understand the princpals getting them, I do not understand the school board getting them. Again kudos to Grumpy Farmer for not accepting one.
This is why I am a reader of JJ.
It is wonderful when the facts emerge. Kinda' changes one's understanding to have FACTS!
Great job.
I do agree that freeing the principals up from the desk is a worthy reason.
Interesting. I do not understand the board members, but this makes sense for the principals.
Ditto on the great work. I also fail to see why school board members need them. I'd also be interested in the specific types of tasks that administrators are able to do with the iPad. Maybe some web-based tasks but it's not like you can just install anything on those things.
The C-L is so insanely screwed up. The JFP is only marginally better.
Why does the central office need them? No one has explained that one!
I had a feeling that the original story on this was not accurate.
Thank you for being the catalyst behind getting the facts straight.
Amanda Harris, I am going to have a toast to you tonight. Thank you for dispelling the vitriol of the CL spin job.
That's why we call it the Clarion-Liar.
Is it lying if they are just plain incompetent?
At my firm, we hate talking to the C-L, because they will ALWAYS get the facts wrong.
Always.
Eventually they are going to mess up one too many times and get sued, and if a pattern or practice of sloppy journalism is admissible evidence, it will not be hard to prove.
Kingfish, good job on correcting the C/L. One minor correction to your report - USAC is an independent not for profit corporation, not a federal agency, not that it makes any difference.
While I'm not going to worry much about spending a few thousand bucks on iPads in Rankin County, I wonder specifically how these are going to help the principals? Why does a principal need to access a student's record when visiting a classroom? It sounds like the district may have just bought a bunch of $558 notepads. Oh, well...not my tax money.
This is a nice tool that USAC has employed, and Rankin County seems to be using it to their advantage. Budget for the full payment on the telecommunications stuff and then use the rebate for whatever you want. Makes more sense than trying to stick a bunch of principal and school board iPads in the budget up front, because I doubt that they'd have been approved. Slick...Bill Billingsley
Those iPads would be great in JPS high schools. That way principals could pull up students' rap sheets at a moments notice.
Granted, the only experience I have had with the iPad is playing with one at the Apple Store. I learned very quickly that it was not practical for use in any way similar to a laptop. After all, Apple is continuing to produce new laptops.
One question would be, how does the principal access any records from the school? Is the school network accessible by the iPad? The vast majority of programs are specific to Microsoft Windows. Is the iPad compatible? Is there an application the principals use?
And regarding the C-L, they are greatly abusing their 1st Amendment rights.
Bill, they can either get the rebate every month or get it at the end of the year. Or would you rather the District doesn't apply for it at all?
Thanks, JJ, for bringing the facts to light.
I do wonder, though, why RCSD hasn't done SOMETHING--own their own--to bring this information to the pubic's attention...a 'Letter to the Editor' at the very least.
There are two Rankin County newspapers--The Rankin County News and the Weekly Leader--and nothing about the iPad issue has been in either....that I've seen anyway.
One would think that the RCSD would want to do whatever they could to let as many people as possible know the facts.
NO Rankin COunty public entities trust the press at all. The most accesible ones of the bunch were Roe Grubbs when he was mayor of Brandon and Gary Rhoads over in Flowood. If you want information from anywhere else without a court order or a FOIA form, good fricking luck.
This is a great point being brought up. Why isn't RCSD sharing the POSITIVE developments publicly? Do they have a PR firm that is on the books that feels differently?
This is a point of contention I have had since the start of reading this blog. The institutional companies that are benefiting from the communities and Public Agencies do not face a bid process, they do not face competition, they do not upset the apple cart.
They just bill.
And bill.
And eventually we all take the time to figure out what is going on and demand accountability, but those in power refuse access, refuse sunshine; they simply protect their own and theirs.
MS needs a rude awakening coming to town. Kudos KF...let the sun shine in.
At one time the RCSD did have an employee 'PR person'. Whether she is gone, assigned elsewhere, or is just not doing her job...I don't know.
As for 'trust' issues, the RCSD administrators need to realize that Rankin Co tax payers/voters--and I'm one--are quickly losing trust in them. It shouldn't require court orders or FOIA forms or Kingfish for us to find out the truth....what ever the truth may be.
But, thank heavens for Kingfish!
Again with Grumpy Farmer NOT accepting the Ipad shows he should be leading the school board! He appears to be the only individual who watches every penny as if it's coming out of his pocket unlike the others who treat OUR money as if it's their's to spend as they wish. Rankin County spoke loud and clear today. Most everyone who voted no would probably agree that SOME money is necessary to borrow in order to keep up with growth, but the current administration with the exception of Grumpy Farmer has proven themselves incapable of handling the responsibility of that task. It's time for CHANGE!
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