Through an initiative launched by Gov. Angus King in 2002, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative made Maine the first state with a plan to put laptop computers into the hands of students on a one-to-one basis.

Now, nearly a decade later, school districts are learning that holding students responsible for an expensive electronic device does not come without problems – some very expensive problems.

While officials in some school districts, like Westbrook, are scratching their heads to find a way to finance the repairs that are needed on the machines, others, such as Cape Elizabeth, South Portland and Scarborough are finding ways to keep repair costs in line through educating students and staff about proper etiquette with the machines and offering optional protection plans with each machine.

For the districts that lease laptops from the state, which include the three school districts, there is a warranty and buffer pool to cover repairs, according to Jeff Mao, the state’s learning technology policy director. The buffer pool provides a limited number of replacements per district for certain types of damage.

Gary Lanoie, technology coordinator for the Cape Elizabeth schools, said the school district has been able to keep up with the cost of repairs through an optional protection plan it offers parents of middle school students. The plan, which costs $50, protects against accidental damages that are not covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Lanoie said the majority of parents participate and financial assistance is available for parents who cannot meet the $50 fee.

“That, along with our budgeting, has allowed us to keep ahead of the repairs,” he said. “The only time we go after parents and students is when we think there has been intentional damage. We don’t think the protection plan should cover that.”

The program provides more than 350 computers to the Cape Elizabeth students and staff in grades 7 and 8. Students in fifth and sixth grade, as well as high school students, have access to computers through department laptop carts and computer labs, but do not participate in the state laptop program, although it is offered at the high school level across the state.

Lanoie said the middle school has been able to keep damages to a minimum, in part due to the staff being familiar with the program, many having been a part of it since its inception.

“In past years we have had quite a bit of damage,” Lanoie said. “But with a renewed focus and getting the staff on board and asking the kids to be more responsible, we have been able to cut back on damages.”

When accidents do occur, Lanoie said, the first step is to attempt to fix the problem in house. If that is not possible and the computer’s warranty covers the repair, the computer is sent to the Apple office in Westbrook. An outside party fixes non-warranty repairs that cannot be fixed by the school’s technology staff.

Lanoie said school vacations, when students are not allowed to bring the computers home, give the technology department time to catch up with repairs.

Last school year there were 12 broken screens and five liquid spills. Several years ago the district had upward of 30 screen breaks. The protection program funding covered $12,980 of the $15,437 in non-warranty repairs from last school year.

In South Portland, Andrew Wallace, director of technology, said an optional protection plan through a third party is also offered to help cover the costs of maintaining the 1,358 computers for students in middle school and high school.

“We strongly encourage students to have protection, but it is optional,” he said of the $40 fee to enroll in the protection program, which covers accidental damage and theft.

The number of students enrolling in the protection program is increasing, Wallace said. Even so, only about 50 percent of the district’s middle school and high school students have the protection.

“It is a pretty good investment,” he said. “Accidents can happen to everybody.”

If student doesn’t have protection, the district works out a payment plan with the family.

Wallace said so far this fiscal year, which began July 1, the district has spent $6,000 from its budget on laptop repairs, $4,050 of which was for repairs to student laptops.

Whether they have protection or not, the students are given a similar laptop while their machine is being repaired, and thus far there hasn’t been a concern with students getting a spare while theirs is being replaced.

“We make sure the students have a replacement because we do not want to impede their access to education,” he said.

The students, he said, are well aware of what is required of them in terms of computer etiquette. Prior to be being handed their computer at the beginning of the school year, students are expected to read and sign off on a two-page basic care agreement, which includes recommendations of how to use and treat the loaned computer.

The agreement, Wallace said, recommends students do not carry the laptop in backpacks, because that increases the likelihood of the screen cracking or breaking, the most common repair needed.

Wallace said he has found that the amount of repairs needed on the students’ computers is similar to that of other technology in the district.

“The repair rate is similar to any piece of technology we have,” he said.

Although the students can take the computers home with them, Wallace said, the district is finding most of the accidents are not occurring at home.

“Our data indicates more damages occur during the school day rather than from the students taking them home,” he said.

Nevertheless, to make sure students are using their computers appropriately, Wallace said, the computers are shut off remotely at 10 p.m.

“We believe a well-rested student is a good student. If a student is not well rested, they are not going to be prepared to learn,” he said.

Educationally, Wallace said, the program “evens the playing field” by making sure all students have the access they need to the suite of software used in their school-day instruction.

Technology specialist for the Scarborough School District Paula Doe said after several years of having to cover the cost of laptop repair for seventh- and eighth-grade students out of the school budget, the district launched a maintenance program to fund the cost of the repairs.

As part of the maintenance plan, which covers the 515 student computers, for a $25 fee parents can enroll and have non-warranty repairs covered. The cost of repairs for computers not part of the maintenance programs falls on the shoulders of the families.

“Most parents welcomed the opportunity to take advantage of the maintenance plan because there are a number of things not covered by the state’s umbrella coverage plan,” Doe said.

For this school year, Doe said, all but a handful of parents enrolled their children in the maintenance program.

Up until the program was introduced three years ago, Doe said, the district did not have funding in the budget for laptop repair. This meant the cost of repairs, whether it be a minor repair of $65, a screen repair of between $350 to $500 or $850 to completely repair a machine, was funded by the parents.

“We felt we can’t possibly expect a parent to shell out that type of money. We thought [the maintenance plan] was a much better idea.”

The intent, she noted, was to put a little responsibility on the student to better take care of his or her computer.

Doe said the district sees, on average, about $8,000 in repairs, although it is seeing a little bit more this year.

As the district begins budget season, school officials in Scarborough are reviewing the maintenance program and are thinking about introducing an incentive for current seventhgrade students. If their computer did not have a repair, they would not have to pay the $25 maintenance program charge for the eighth-grade year. That, however, is still in the discussion phase.

“We feel it makes some sense to reward students who have done a good job handling their laptops,” Doe said.

Reporter Joey Cresta also contributed to this story.

Copy the Story Link