Athletics or laptops?
In a recent comment, Bill Bradley said:
photo © 2007 Jamie Williams | more info (via: Wylio)I used to think that the cost [of student laptops] was ridiculous, until I looked at our district’s budget for athletics, and the unrecouped costs for that would have easily paid for new 1-to-1 laptops every single year, so a 4 or 5 year cycle would be trivial compared to what is spent on Athletics.
This post is not about knocking P-12 athletic programs. But budgets are pretty tight right now and any financial expenditure reflects decisions about priorities. So in the interest of fostering some conversation …
- How much money does your school district spend per year on athletics?
- How many student/teacher laptops (at, say, $1,400 apiece) would that buy?
- Which offers greater benefits for students and/or the district (short term and/or long term)?
Thoughts?
