District spends $3.14 million on new Smart Boards
A Smart Board being used in Carrillo art class (Christian Bon, The Puma Prensa)
By Christian Bon, editor
Several weeks ago, students entered classrooms to a surprise: brand new smart boards tucked in the corner of their rooms. These boards are part of Santa Rosa City School’s district-wide decision to provide new technology to teachers in order to enhance the learning environment for students and modernize education. However, this technology came with high costs, leading some teachers to ask the question: what exactly is being gained from these boards, and is that gain worth the price?
In regards to the smart board’s usefulness, the results are somewhat mixed. In quick interviews conducted with almost every teacher on Carrillo’s campus, opinions varied from highly positive to highly negative with results of every kind and severity sprinkled within. On one end, a teacher who wished to remain anonymous “[likes] it more than the projector,” but says it’s “not as big” and has “more bells and whistles,” though this teacher also said they “maybe aren’t necessary.” On the other end, another teacher, also wishing to remain anonymous, believes they were “a waste” and that “teachers who wanted them should get them, but others should have had projector” or other alternative options. Ms. Henry, an academic, honors, and AP English teacher says she was “kicked out of [her own] presentations” a few times, but overall finds the board to be helpful and uses hers frequently in her classes. In a sample of 14 teachers, five said they used the boards frequently to semi-frequently while nine had not yet found consistent use for them. Of the nine teachers yet to use them, five stated they intended to once they had received training while four had no intention of involving them in their lessons. Though by far the most common opinion held by teachers is that, while they are new and provide additional options for lessons, they are not significantly more useful than the projectors they are trying to replace.
One of the major concerns with the smart boards is the issue of training. While designed to be intuitive, learning the ins and outs of the new technology has proved difficult for some, thus, district training was implemented to fix the problem. Trainings have been offered twice outside school hours, with the time being paid, and proved somewhat useful for those who attended, but not everyone could. Some teachers, because of either scheduling conflicts or a desire for their time off, have yet to attend and, as such, are not as able to make use of the smart board’s full functionality. Some have simply moved the boards to the corner of their classes or into adjacent rooms. A further concern is that training may only exist for this year. This would mean that new teachers would be forced to learn the technology themselves or be trained by the school and other faculty creating another barrier to the already numerous ones standing between classrooms and new teachers. Though, in an interview with Lisa August, the Associate Superintendent of Business Services, she assured that trainings were intended to continue indefinitely.
Another significant concern, and a cause of frustration for some of the teachers interviewed, was the feeling that the smart boards were forced upon them. Teachers have been told by administration not to modify the smart boards and, furthermore, that they must be kept in the classroom even if teachers aren’t finding use for them. When asked about the freedom teacher’s had with the boards, August said that “they must remain in classrooms.” Ultimately, “classrooms belong to the school and district” and boards must stay there because “equipment [must] be there for the next teacher.” August did clarify that teachers were permitted to make certain modifications. For example, the smart boards can be raised or lowered in the carts, though “ideally by people who have been trained.” However, mounting them, as some teachers have already voiced plans to do, is “a facility issue” and should be handled by the district, not teachers. This is due to the fact that people not specifically trained to do so adjusting load bearing walls or configuring electrical wires could pose a safety issue to classrooms. So for the teachers who feel mounting the smart boards is necessary, they may be out of luck. Specialized installment can triple the price and greatly extend the engineering and installment work, leading the district to leave specialized installment for the last phase of the rollout, which has still yet to happen. And should teachers want to remove them, August said it could only be on a “very limited basis. There must be a real documented case of space issues.”
Finally, warranty on the smart boards only covers malfunctions of the product and does not cover accidental damage by either students, weather, or teachers. Each of these cases would have to be handled by an insurance claim should teachers want another. Should a ViewSonic get damaged, teachers or faculty must submit a ticket to the tech hub who will then contact the manufacturer for a replacement.
Despite the concerns, trained teachers who have experimented on their own as well are finding use for the smart boards. More teachers adapt to the technology each day, with various teachers who, at the time of the sample, stated they weren’t using the boards now using them regularly. Additionally, this was an expense for the district, not Maria Carrillo itself. Principal Monique Luke confirmed the boards were “rolled out by the district using [district] money… They were not an expense for Carrillo.” She believes they are a “valuable tool” and that “for [Carrillo’s] budget, any resources should not go back to the district.” While they are fully optional, Luke hopes they will help the school “provide the best to students.”
While the boards cost the school nothing aside from some inconvenience to teachers and extra work going to training, they did cost something to the district. The screens each cost $2,114, the cart $300, the mic and speaker system $1,220, and extra expenses were $140 bringing the total to $3,774 per unit, and there were units placed in every classroom in every school in the district. Over the course of two phases, the smart boards cost a total of $3.14 million. This money came from two main sources: bond money and reimbursements. Reimbursements can be several different things, but in this case it was money the state paid back to Santa Rosa City Schools as a part of their district modernization effort. The state usually provides a 60 / 40 matching grant, meaning that the state will pay back 40% of money spent on certain projects they deem important for school function. However, this still leaves 60% of the cost to be paid by the district, and usually more so as California only pays back certain approved expenditures, meaning that specific problems and costs that come up during implementation might not be covered.
With the large monetary cost, students have formed various opinions on whether or not the price was worth it. Senior Kai Krombholz said, “I don’t know if I would have put the money there. Bolstering staff, increasing pay, or creating programs for students, all of those could have been better options.” And many others feel similar, questioning if the $3.14 million could have been better spent on other things that might better enhance their learning.
Despite the differing opinions on the smart boards and arguments as to whether or not they were the most optimal district expenditure, they are what the district has provided to the school, even if many teachers believe they are only a marginal improvement to projectors. August stressed the importance of addressing equity issues: “resources, time, and energy should be put towards creating equitable experiences across classrooms.” The goal is to “create a standardized minimum” from which teachers can then build on. Whether the smart boards will see more or less use over time remains to be seen, but with Maria Carrillo intent on using any and all resources provided to them, they seem like they’ll stick around.