Cardinal Community Schools in Eldon, Iowa, is using its local Option Sales Tax money to pay for a four-year, one-to-one laptop program. All students in seventh-grade and above are assigned a laptop for use in the classroom and at home.

All the laptops (Apple MacBooks) include webcams, microphones and magnetic power supplies but do not have CD-ROM trays. The district will lease the computers from Apple for four years at a total cost of approximately $600,000. That breaks down to $1.30 per student per school day.

“We’re using our SILO money, the 1 percent sales tax. About one-third of that each month will be set aside to pay off the lease,” said Principal Deron Durfinger.

Administrators hope the program levels the playing field for the district’s poorest families, since many do not have computers at home. Close to 55 percent of Eldon’s students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
For now, only a handful of districts across the state offer laptops for every student, but administrators believe others will follow suit. “I think 10 years down the road, it’s going to be common practice for school districts in the state of Iowa,” said Cardinal Superintendent Arnie Snook.

Source: KCCI.com (Desmoines, IA), School Offers Free Laptops For Every Student