By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board approved on a split vote Monday night the purchase of new iPads for Hays Middle School students.
The district will purchase 680 iPads and cases for $238,000.
Board members Lance Bickle and Greg Schwartz advocated for purchasing less expensive Chromebooks without touchscreen capability. The difference between buying devices with touchscreens was $40,000.
“At this point it is the process of this whole thing that frustrates me,” Bickle said. “We can absolutely get by without touchscreens without a doubt. Probably 90 percent of the other districts out there can get by without other touchscreens, but for some reason, we can’t here at USD 489. Those other districts also do it and save money, but again, we don’t seem to be able to do that.”
During the fall, the district Technology Committee conducted a Chromebook pilot study in which the Learning Center, and select HMS and elementary classes participated. After that study, the Technology Committee recommended purchasing iPads.
The district’s Technology Committee surveyed HMS teachers to determine how often they use the touchscreen function and how eliminating touchscreens would affect student learning.
Of the 36 teachers surveyed, 21 of the 36 said their students used the touchscreen function hourly. Thirty-one of 36 teachers said student learning would be negatively impacted by the elimination of touchscreens.
The teachers were then asked to elaborate on how the touchscreens were used in their classes. Many of them said the students took notes or completed assignments by writing or drawing using the touchscreen function. A group of HMS teachers as well as Principal Tom Albers attended the meeting so they could answer the board’s questions if necessary.
Bickle said he found many of the comments from the teachers who were surveyed perplexing, such as a comment which said it would be difficult for middle school students to take notes on paper and keep them organized.
“Seriously?” he said. “Have we really fallen that far that our kids can’t keep their notes in order now on paper and pencil?”
Bickle continued, “At the end of the day, it is frustrating because all of this shouldn’t be looked at now. It should have been looked at all the way along here, because it seems at the end of the day, the decision was made we are going to go with iPads and every one’s mind was made up that we’re going with iPads and we are going to find every reason we can to why we shouldn’t look at anything else.
“I can honestly say the thing that we have to look at as a board is, ‘Is this the most important place to be spending money?’ Right now, I can’t say that it honestly is. We have enough other things going on. We can’t even pass a bond. For me, it is awfully hard to go back and ask a community to support a bond when we can come up with money and spend more money than we need to get by.”
Schwartz said he was not happy with the bidding process on this technology purchase or other recent purchases.
“We go out and pick a brand and then we figure out how to make it fit,” he said. “Those aren’t good ways to save money. They are not sound ways to do this.”
Board member Paul Adams spoke in favor of the Technology Committee’s recommendation.
“I think we entrusted the Technology Committee with that. On our part we probably should have put a board member on there. I think it is something we may want to do in the future. I appreciate the effort and the work you put in. I think the fact is that you are closer to what the students do need and don’t. We are forming uniformed opinions often, whereas you are there at the classroom with them and may be closer to the research.”
Board member Mike Walker agreed the committee and teachers were closer to the students than the board. He also said he appreciated the committee had stayed within budget and was continuing with a four-year replacement rotation as the the board had requested.
“I respect your position and opinions,” he told the Technology Committee, “however, that doesn’t mean that next year we can’t change things up by putting a board member on the committee or have some more discussions about how the process goes on.”
The final vote was 4-3 with Schwartz, Bickle and Board President Mandy Fox voting against.
The new iPads should be ready for students to use this fall.
Next year, the district is scheduled to replace devices for grades three, four and five. Those students are also currently using iPads.