| Policymakers throughout all educational levels are | | | | deferred maintenance, or in operational and |
| wrestling with the cold, hard truth that the original | | | | maintenance restricted funds. If a comprehensive |
| funding of new equipment and software is the tip | | | | plan is developed and followed, districts can |
| of the funding iceberg. In the '80s we called this | | | | ensure this major building block for support of |
| the "hidden costs." In the '90s we were so | | | | education will be set in place. |
| excited about all the new gadgets that we forgot | | | | - Equipment and software to meet those |
| to worry about anything else. Now, in the new | | | | demands: with the first two areas in place, an |
| century, we are wondering how we can afford to | | | | intelligent decision can be made regarding the |
| keep the tools our administrators, teachers, | | | | purchase of software, computers and other |
| parents and students are finally putting to good | | | | related equipment that will work with the existing |
| use. | | | | infrastructure and meet the district's instructional |
| As the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) | | | | and business demands. |
| states in their Total Cost of Ownership white | | | | Attaining these goals may require more than one |
| paper, "While many government and private | | | | year. It is also highly probable that goals will |
| programs provide the means of obtaining the | | | | change over time. It is wise, therefore, to create |
| much-needed technology for schools, there are | | | | a multi-year plan that is agile and modifiable. |
| few provisions for the necessary ongoing support | | | | Part of supporting technology is providing a |
| of these technologies. School districts, having | | | | maintenance, replacement or obsolescence fund, |
| installed much of the technologies needed for | | | | typically fed from districts' general funds. Too |
| classroom, administrative and community | | | | often a majority of technology dollars are spent |
| communications functions, are fast becoming | | | | simply maintaining the status quo. The challenge is |
| aware of the support problems and need to | | | | to meet the continual need for growth in the |
| budget for the ongoing support costs." These | | | | areas of technology for online assessments, |
| monies are often the last priority of any school | | | | home-to-school communication, 24/7 access to |
| entity. | | | | learning resources and virtual or distance learning. |
| With the revolving threat of federal funds | | | | Step 2: Partnerships |
| elimination for E-Rate and EETT (Enhancing | | | | LEAs can benefit from partnerships with local and |
| Education Through Technology) funds, districts | | | | national businesses in two major ways. First, |
| must find their own reliable and ongoing funding | | | | businesses use general funds to support |
| sources, and state and federal leadership would | | | | technology, and business leaders can share funding |
| do well to help calculate and take into | | | | and maintenance best practices with educational |
| consideration total cost of ownership. Seeing the | | | | policymakers. Second, business partners can |
| big picture is a necessity. | | | | donate equipment or money to support |
| General Budget Technology Funding | | | | technology innovations in education. |
| To compound the funding dilemma, many | | | | True partnerships support all parties involved. Such |
| education leaders have yet to realize that | | | | partnerships can be large or small, because any |
| technology is no longer a separate entity. | | | | amount of funding will help. Large corporations |
| Technology use is an everyday occurrence in | | | | often have several different funding sources. IBM, |
| every school in every district, at one level or | | | | for instance, has the Academic Initiative and an |
| another. Unfortunately, many education policy | | | | alliance with the Computer Science Teachers |
| leaders have not revised their general budgets to | | | | Association to provide free software and |
| support the proven ways technology improves | | | | curriculum planning. Intel offers multiple grant |
| the work and goals of the local education agencies | | | | programs, as does Microsoft. Smaller companies, |
| (LEAs). Leaders who consider technology a "black | | | | even the mom and pop donut shop, can and will |
| hole" (as one administrator once told me) are | | | | support their neighborhood school. |
| burying their heads in the sand and should be | | | | Step 3: Form Foundations |
| made aware or trained. | | | | If a community understands its local districts' |
| Those who set the general fund budget should be | | | | funding constraints, they are often willing to |
| informed of the successes from districts that | | | | extend financial assistance by creating a |
| have recreated education budgeting and work | | | | foundation. While foundations are helpful overall, |
| practices. These districts take advantage of | | | | they should be avoided for individual school sites, |
| technology to increase business efficiency and | | | | as they generally increase inequities that already |
| advance student learning, thus saving money and | | | | exist. Schools in more affluent neighborhoods may |
| truly educating students while helping meet No | | | | have foundations that raise $100,000 or more |
| Child Left Behind mandates: | | | | annually, while schools in less affluent areas may |
| | | | only raise $5,000 or have no foundation, and will |
| 1. One of the strongest organizations of high | | | | obviously be unable to support their student |
| performing school districts west of the Mississippi | | | | learning projects. |
| River is the Western States Benchmarking | | | | Step 4: New Uses for Old Technologies |
| Consortium. These districts constantly score | | | | Thin client (a network computer without a hard |
| above the norm on tests, have high graduation | | | | disk drive, which is designed to be especially small |
| rates, and have lower dropout rates when | | | | so that the bulk of the data processing occurs on |
| compared with similar and dissimilar demographics. | | | | the server) is one way to use old equipment to |
| All of these school districts were early adopters | | | | run new software, where old computers can |
| of technology and have used it to support | | | | become "dumb terminals" and run new applications |
| teachers, students and their business teams. | | | | from the server. This solution requires a sound |
| 2. Assistant Superintendent John Q. Porter of | | | | network foundation and server structure, but can |
| Montgomery County Public Schools, an | | | | reduce replacement costs and decrease |
| outstanding school district on the East Coast, | | | | technology support staff needs. |
| stated in the June issue of District Administration | | | | Step 5: Give Grants a Chance |
| magazine, "Our enemy is time, and technology is | | | | Where are the grants? Too many education |
| the only way [to combat that]. Still, there are | | | | decision-makers and leaders, especially at the high |
| people who don't understand the importance of | | | | school level, do not realize that state and federal |
| technology because they fear it. One of the first | | | | grants are much easier to obtain if their free and |
| things you realize in technology is that technology | | | | reduced lunch count is 40 percent or more. It is |
| is change; those who fail in developing systems | | | | important for educators to have accurate data |
| don't understand the dynamic of change." | | | | and a high percentage in this area for funding |
| 3. Two years ago, Poway Unified School District | | | | sources such as E-Rate, EETT, or other related |
| was going to hire 32 new teachers. The | | | | sources. In addition, ferreting out grant money |
| technology department used their data | | | | can augment general funds to support student |
| warehousing tool to show district leaders they | | | | learning with technology. |
| needed only 25 teachers. The leadership followed | | | | The Road to Affording Ed Tech |
| their advice instead of following old trends, and | | | | General budget funding must be realigned to |
| their estimation proved correct. The district saved | | | | match the needs of local education agencies. This |
| approximately $350,000 in salaries -- more than | | | | will help both the learning and business aspects of |
| the cost of the data warehouse installation. | | | | a school. These funds may initially need |
| 4. Student assessments have changed. Trish | | | | supplemental support, but educators must be |
| Williams and Michael Kirst, in their article "School | | | | aware of the benefits of technology. We must |
| Practices that Matter" (Leadership Magazine, March | | | | intelligently commit funding for the educational |
| April 2006), state high performing districts must | | | | growth of all our children. |
| have assessments that align with state standards | | | | Leasing Equipment |
| and have the ability to quickly inform teachers of | | | | Last year, the Poway Unified School District had |
| results. Online assessments give policymakers a | | | | to replace approximately 3,000 Windows 95 |
| choice of how to properly assess students to | | | | computers. These computers would not run the |
| support learning, with 24 hours or quicker result | | | | Web browser needed for their data reporting tool |
| reporting. This should be a common practice to | | | | or the majority of teacher Web pages. The |
| support the students and meet NCLB mandates. | | | | memory and speed of the computers were |
| RELATED STORY: Find More Money for Budget | | | | insufficient to run most of the enterprise-wide |
| and Technology [ | | | | educational software available over their wide |
| All budgets, despite project or department, must | | | | area network (WAN) and local area networks |
| be completely reviewed to see how technology | | | | (LANs). |
| can support and make the end product more | | | | The district had less than $1 million per year |
| successful. Additionally, policy leaders must | | | | available for this project. Leasing was discussed. |
| continue to research what new innovations will be | | | | The amount the district had for support was |
| appearing in the near future and analyze how | | | | ongoing, so the question was, could a lease |
| these new tools will impact education programs in | | | | agreement that guaranteed a vendor an ongoing |
| their local education agencies. All must be in a | | | | fixed dollar amount for several years also |
| continual learning mode and work together to | | | | guarantee the district a continuing flow of |
| envision how we can help put students on a path | | | | up-to-date technology equipment? |
| to continual intellectual growth. Following are some | | | | The district obtained a four-year lease with three |
| steps to start down the path toward properly | | | | vendors, with an agreement at the end of four |
| utilizing general funds for the support of | | | | years to rotate the machines out with a new |
| technology. | | | | lease agreement. Additional cost savings included |
| Funding Where There was None | | | | the maintenance agreement -- vendor |
| Step 1: Evaluate and Prioritize | | | | responsibility for all repairs during the lease period. |
| Data-driven decision-making is a fundamental part | | | | Thin Client |
| of this first step. Generally, there are three areas | | | | Districts throughout New York and New Jersey |
| from which data should be gathered: instructional | | | | have discovered how to use thin client technology |
| and business demands, the infrastructure to | | | | to make old computers new again. During the late |
| support those demands, and the equipment and | | | | 1990s, thin client was dismissed as too slow and |
| software needed to meet those demands. | | | | too expensive to be useful in most school |
| - Instructional and business demands: these | | | | districts. This perception has changed in business, |
| demands are driven by district objectives, | | | | as in education, with greater network speed via |
| community expectations, state and federal | | | | WAN and LAN technologies, and tremendous |
| mandates, funding constraints and labor union | | | | server cost reductions. |
| guidelines. Expectations are increasingly high for | | | | In a thin client environment, workstations do not |
| districts to produce students who perform well on | | | | store programs but rather receive everything |
| standardized tests and exhibit good citizenship. | | | | from a system of servers (one server for about |
| The business side of education exists to support | | | | 20 workstations). When servers were $20,000 |
| the learning activities that will meet these | | | | each, this was cost prohibitive. Today, servers |
| expectations. | | | | that can support thin client cost about $3,500, |
| - The infrastructure to support those demands: | | | | allowing quick communication with workstations |
| LEAs' infrastructure consists of multiple | | | | and a cost-saving solution. |
| components. Every two to three years, structural | | | | Total Cost of Ownership |
| components should be reviewed. Telephones, | | | | How can policy leaders find the true cost of |
| data, alarm, networks and general physical | | | | supporting equipment? The Consortium for School |
| condition of buildings must be assessed to | | | | Networking (CoSN) and the Gartner Group have |
| understand what repairs and upgrades are | | | | an online tool that will assist in the estimation of |
| needed. Funding is available in many states under | | | | this cost for various levels of technology. |