The Hamilton Southeastern school board debated Wednesday night what computer device will be used at the high school level, finally settling on a $150 annual rental fee for 13-inch MacBook Air laptops. High school freshmen at both buildings will begin using this device at this price beginning in August of the 2020-21 school year.
The school corporation will subsidize the rental cost to families. Jeff Harrison, Director of Educational Technology for HSE Schools, told board members the annual fee would need to be $186 per year for the school district to cover the full cost. Board members voted to subsidize the difference by dipping into the 10-year bond aimed at maintaining and renovating school buildings.
Harrison says the cost of each MacBook Air device to the school corporation is $699, plus $45 each for a protective case. The $150 per year fee will cover the cost of the protective case.
After a lengthy discussion on how to move forward on the proposal, the original motion called for a $125 per year fee to families for the device, but that motion was amended to change the annual device fee to $150. The final vote on the fee was 6-1.
Harrison told the board that HSE administrators recommended the MacBook Air because a majority of teachers self-selected it, and he listed several technical reasons it would work best compared to other options.
The school corporation has been using iPads, charging a fee of $90 per year. Because high school freshmen will begin using the MacBook Air next school year, it will slowly replace the iPads at high schools.
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