Angry voters reject school-board incumbents over Apple iBook deal
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/7185226.htm
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4194340.html
Voters in Stillwater, Minn., on Tuesday voted out three school-board incumbents who had voted for a deal to give Apple iBook computers to junior-high students.
Of four incumbents, the only one who won re-election had voted against the deal. Two of the winners were write-in candidates who ran for office in opposition to the deal.
When the deal was announced, many district residents were angry that they had not been consulted about the deal, which will cost the district about $2 million. Opponents also question whether the laptops would significantly improve student achievement.
School board officials said Apple demanded an immediate decision or else they would go to another school.
Background link:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4187918.html
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4194340.html
Voters in Stillwater, Minn., on Tuesday voted out three school-board incumbents who had voted for a deal to give Apple iBook computers to junior-high students.
Of four incumbents, the only one who won re-election had voted against the deal. Two of the winners were write-in candidates who ran for office in opposition to the deal.
When the deal was announced, many district residents were angry that they had not been consulted about the deal, which will cost the district about $2 million. Opponents also question whether the laptops would significantly improve student achievement.
School board officials said Apple demanded an immediate decision or else they would go to another school.
Background link:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4187918.html
Comments
Originally posted by CaseCom
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/7185226.htm
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4194340.html
Voters in Stillwater, Minn., on Tuesday voted out three school-board incumbents who had voted for a deal to give Apple iBook computers to junior-high students.
Of four incumbents, the only one who won re-election had voted against the deal. Two of the winners were write-in candidates who ran for office in opposition to the deal.
When the deal was announced, many district residents were angry that they had not been consulted about the deal, which will cost the district about $2 million. Opponents also question whether the laptops would significantly improve student achievement.
School board officials said Apple demanded an immediate decision or else they would go to another school.
Background link:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4187918.html
Oh well, let the parents sit and rot now.
Seriously, I grew up in Stillwater and they've had some pretty bad school spending habits. The budget is cut, so they beg for a referendum - when they get it, the superintendent takes a pay raise. Next referendum fails to much whining among students and teachers. The next one after that passed, and guess what they use it for... a new set of bleachers. Stillwater Junior High also had a mobile iBook lab that they ditched in favor of PC laptops with default VGA drivers installed instead of normal video drivers (meaning any screen refresh takes forever) because the computer guys at that school are a bunch of morons. I mean, they had a perfectly functional set of 500 MHz iBooks! Why the hell would they get rid of it for PCs? They could have at least phased the Macs out if they really didn't want them.
Anyway, according to my brother (who is now in 10th grade but went through the iBook fiasco at the junior high), everyone hates the new PCs and they loved the iBooks. But all his classmates have moved on to the high school where they have all PCs anyway.
Oh yeah... they overhauled their schedule, fired a lot of teachers, and changed a lot of things around to save money last year. Stillwater is a rich community. If a kid doesn't have access to the internet in his own home, then a friend or neighbor of his certainly does. This is just an issue of the voters preventing yet another big, pointless expense.