Interim Superintendent Ramon Cortines admitted to concerned parents and officials last week that the Unified School District of Los Angeles didn't have enough money to provide every student with an iPad or other computer device.
"I don't believe we can afford a device for every student," Cortines said. "Education shouldn't become the gimmick of the year." His remarks mark the latest blow to the gut for the district's $1.3 billion technology initiative, which is currently under federal investigation.
The initiative passed back in 2013 under former Supt. John Deasy, but only a small portion of the district's 650,000 students ever even got their hands on such tech as tablets and personal computers. In addition to that, the rollout of the initiative was rife with problems. To wit, Deasy resigned under major scrutiny in October 2014.
Cortines, now the holder of said issues, will attempt to provide teachers, students, and volunteers with the tools necessary to complete instruction and testing.
The interim superintendent admits that the district was never completely prepared to utilize said devices inside or outside the classroom, let alone even how to pay for them over time.
To soften the blow, he attempted to outline a more measured approach, with details on how purchasing devices should be balanced against other important issues, such as repairing broken-down campuses. Through all the negativity and hoopla, Deasy, along with his senior deputy, Jaime Aquino, have denied wrongdoing and insisted it was an educational imperative to make the technology available to all students.
Flashing back to fall 2013, the initial rollout of the $1.3 billion technology initiative was plagued by issues. From high school students deleting security filters so they could freely browse websites to questionable professional relationships between Deasy, Aquino and executives from Apple, the FBI seized numerous documents pertaining to the project as part of a criminal investigation.
The Los Angeles district's problems regarding the iPad have frequently become a distracting problem leading up to this year's March 3 school board elections. Most challengers to the position fault the incumbents for going along with the flawed educational effort. One of the most vocal backers of Deasy's iPad plan, Tamar Galatzan, is running for election onto the board.
"At the time the board was told we could afford to get there," Galatzan said last Friday. "There were phases in a plan and we were told we had the money to provide the devices to all students."
Galatzan remains confident that all students across the district should have computers, saying, "Our goal is to get one device for every student, but that's our long-term goal. Our short-term goal is to make sure every student has access to a computer to complete classroom assignments, and so the teachers can use them in class."
Meanwhile, Cortines, who came out of retirement to take over from the controversial Deasy, believes that enlisting an educational task force would help plot the district's future path on technology.
