This spring, voters could have the chance to fund about 6,000 new computers and replace about 3,000 others in the Edmonds School District, among other technology upgrades and replacements.
The district is proposing a Technology and Capital Levy for spring 2008 that also includes capital improvements in school security, energy efficiency, buildings and more. The 2004 technology levy that brought computers and other tools to classrooms will expire in 2008, and the spring 2008 levy would renew it.
The levy’s tax rate isn’t final yet, but the district is aiming to have the rate be equal to or lower than the 2004 levy rate, said Cynthia Nelson, technology director for the district.
The district has a preliminary list of technology projects the levy could fund, but nothing’s final without the approval of the Edmonds School Board. The board could vote to approve the levy as early as the end of September. The district also will accept input from an online survey of parents, students, teachers and staff through Aug. 31.
The preliminary list of technology projects for the levy was drawn up after district staff talked with various groups of teachers, principals, students, parents and district staff.
“Their first lists were fairly expensive,” said Kim Mathey, manager of instructional technology for the district.
They’re trying to trim the list down to fit a smaller budget, Nelson said.
An online survey to parents, teachers, students and staff has also helped build the list.
“In the survey, parents want to have online access to what’s happening in class,” Mathey said.
Students asked for access to more computers and ways to turn things in online.
Some surveyed were concerned that teaching technology would replace teaching academic subjects. Mathey said the district’s focus is to teach academic subjects through technology, rather than using it to teach technology skills alone.
Others surveyed pointed to the district’s fiscal struggles this year and said money should be used to fund teachers rather than technology.
Teachers are funded through the district’s general fund, which took cuts this year. New technology is paid for with capital fund dollars.
After the implementation phase, technology programs are supported with general fund dollars, especially in training and technology support.
The list of projects that could be funded by the 2008 levy includes:
• Mobile labs of 15 wireless computers on carts for every four classrooms at elementary and middle schools and mobile labs of 30 wireless computers for every three classrooms at high schools. The computers would come with software, including note-taking software and resources like the World Book Encyclopedia online, which includes video clips.
Currently, there is one mobile lab of 15 computers at each elementary and middle school and two mobile labs of 15 computers for each high school. Before the 2004 levy, there were no mobile labs for classrooms.
Having mobile labs of 30 computers at high schools responds to teacher’s requests to do projects in a one-to-one computer setup, Nelson said.
• “Student technology tools” for 60 percent of classrooms at elementary and middle schools and for 40 percent of high school classrooms. The tools vary from grade to grade and subject to subject.
In a high school math class, for example, they include graphing calculators and interactive math simulations. In kindergarten through second grade, they include four computers, headphones, primary writing software, a digital camera and a color printer.
Some district classrooms have the tools already. Teachers apply for the tools and get three days of training on how to use them. With the 2008 levy, older student tools from the 2004 levy would be replaced.
• Student e-mail. “It’s a proposal — a way for teachers to contact students,” said Mathey. “Some teachers we talked to want to be able to e-mail all the students in the class.”
E-mail addresses change, and a high school teacher has 150 students, she said.
• Blogs and podcasts. An internal district system would let students post blogs and podcasts within the system, unavailable to outside viewers. Internet blogs are blocked at elementaries because of age-level appropriateness.
• Improve the district’s Web site for community use.
• Upgrade the district’s network infrastructure, a process begun with the 2004 levy.
• Offer a course or lab at middle schools to ensure eighth-graders meet state standards of technology fluency.
• Create more district servers and collaborative communities online.
• Replace all computers, printers and copiers in the district on a five-year cycle. Replace the projectors and document cameras given to every district classroom from the 2004 levy.
“Prior to the 2004 levy, I think we were tech poor and well behind neighboring districts,” Nelson said. “In one levy we were able to catch up.”
If the 2004 levy isn’t renewed in 2008, the district could slip back to where it was before, she said.
“By 2012, the computers we bought would be pretty tired,” she said.
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