For each purchase of books or school uniforms, the board would get part of the revenues as a fee from the seller. The complete system could also be offered for sale to school districts in other large cities, raising more revenues for the board. Such a deal might be worth the cost to a company like America Online because a student would have to use the Board of Education's system to send and receive e-mail messages, to receive and complete assignments or to communicate with teachers. More important for such a company, a student may be more likely to continue using its service after leaving for college, becoming a paying customer. He is also a member of the Board of Education task force that introduced the technology proposal.
Critics abound, however.
Though the Board of Education's plan contemplates keeping the advertising and commercial aspects separate from the commercial-free educational Web site, and allowing parents to control their children's access to the commercial content, critics have contended that the school system would be selling out its students for a dubious goal. Ultimately, the brands and products being advertised, rather than our children, would reap most of the benefits. Harold O. Levy, the schools chancellor, said in an interview that he was not worried about the use of advertising to pay for the system. Clearly, technology companies are eager to participate in the program. Representatives from Cisco, International Business Machines and Toshiba were on the task force that created the technology plan.