Batavia student fees could rise $75 to help pay for Chromebooks
Outfitting Batavia students for the proposed 21st Century Learning Plan could cost parents an extra $75 per year per student.
That would buy all students in third through 12th grades a new Chromebook computer every other year. Kindergartners through second-graders would share a yet-to-be-determined device, such as a Chromebook or a tablet computer.
The board's finance committee will discuss the plan at noon Tuesday, and the school board will vote on the plan at 7 p.m. Both meetings are at the Rosalie Jones Administration Center, 335 W. Wilson St.
First-year costs of the plan are estimated at $890,020. That includes $275,000 to improve the district' wireless network, and $36,000 to add bandwidth.
Middle school and high school students would receive the devices this fall. Elementary students would get them in the fall of 2015.
The fee increase would mean a middle school student would pay a $165 registration fee, and a high school student $194.
The district would pay $249 apiece for the Chromebooks, plus $30 for a management license and $21 for a case.
The families could pay the full fee at registration, or make 10 monthly payments. Students eligible for reduced-fee school lunch programs would have their fee reduced, and those who are eligible for free school lunches would have the fee waived.
The plan calls for replacing the devices every two years due to wear and tear and expected battery life. The seniors who graduate in 2015 would have the option to keep their one-year-old Chromebooks, at a cost of $150. Other students would keep their old ones if they want.
After testing the Chromebooks on the fifth-graders at one school and a section of sixth-graders in the 2012-13 school year, the board decided to outfit all sixth-graders this school year with the devices and so bought 389 of them in September.
The plan can be found on the board's agenda on the district's website at boarddocs.com/il/bps101/Board.nsf/Public.