The Sumner County Board of Education in Tennessee is looking for new resources to fund a major technology upgrade to all of its 46 schools by the 2014-15 school year, the Tennessean reports.
According to the report, the board estimates the upgrades will cost an estimated $7 million to upgrade the school's infrastructure. Meanwhile, hardware upgrades, including computers, televisions and classroom projectors, will increase that bill even further.
One suggestion that has been made is a $0.01 or $0.02 property tax, which could generate thousands of dollars each year for the district. This, in turn, could be used to pay for new technology, as well as upgrades.
"One of the things they ask of their funding bodies is that they dedicate a specific amount of property tax to the acquisition and training and use of technology so that there is always a predictable stream of revenue coming in,” said assistant director of schools for instruction Judy Wheeler. "Right now there is no predictable stream of money of any size."
According to a recent study by Cisco, the majority of educators believe technology in the classroom can enhance a student's learning development, as well as a teacher's ability to educate.
