Hernando Schools Get Technology Boost

BROOKSVILLE - Think back to the computer you had eight years ago.

You probably don't own it anymore. Or if you do, its slow speed, constant error messages and inability to run modern programs are most likely a source of frustration.

Now picture trying to teach a classroom full of students in a lab full of similar machines.

Officials say that's been the scene at most of Hernando County's public schools - but not anymore.

Tuesday, members of the Hernando County School Board unanimously approved a four-year, $8.4 million deal to lease 11,000 brand-new computers from Dell.

The new machines will replace the district's current policy of buying 700 new computers per year. It will provide computers for every classroom and a laptop for every teacher.

"This is unprecedented in this district," management information systems director Cindy Peters said. "We're refreshing computers in every media center, every lab and every computer. When school opens in the fall, it's just going to be an amazing sight to see."

The district currently has 10,474 machines, many of which are older than three years old. Some are eight to 10 years old.

Now, any computers that are less than two years old will be refurbished and redistributed throughout the district, bringing the district's computers up to 14,000, Peters said.

In addition to updating the district's technology, the plan is meant to even out district inconsistencies - part of Superintendent Wayne Alexander's plan to eliminate the "haves and have nots" between schools.

Newer schools, such as Challenger K-8 in Spring Hill, have newer equipment, while older schools such as Brooksville Elementary have older machines.

"We don't have a uniform standard right now," Peters said. "You may go into one school and there are three computers in a classroom, and you walk into a classroom at another school and there's one."

Under the new plan, each elementary school classroom in the district will house four new computers. At the middle school level, students will use mobile laptop carts to be rotated between classrooms as needed, with 25 laptops for every 175 students.

"There will be no 'haves and have nots' anymore, as far as technology and computers go," Peters said. "And teachers' laptops will enable them to work (between home and school) easily."

While the contract is expensive - more than $2.2 million from the district's capital improvement fund in the next year alone - it includes a maintenance agreement, with technicians standing by to help install the computers in June and conduct repairs as needed.

Currently, the district spends $700,000 per year on computers, with much of that coming from grants. However, additional funding is spent each year on frequent maintenance and repair costs, Peters said.

The district's new energy-efficient AMD processors will actually save the district an estimated $75 per machine, per year, in energy costs, she added.

All computers will be replaced every four years. The district's older computers will be sold to local families for $60 or less.

The new machines also set the stage for high-tech, computerized versions of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, expected to be the standard within the next several years, Peters added.

"Now, we only have about 10 percent of our computers that are (powerful enough) to run the online FCAT," she said.

The state of Florida recommends that school districts aim to replace computers every three years.

District staff will spend the summer moving out the old machines and moving in the new ones and hope to have everything in place by the time school starts in August.

"It's going to be a major deployment," Peters said. "My staff is already joking that there won't be any vacations this summer."