The remaining schools have 56 KB frame-relay connections. The School Board plans additional upgrades in line speed as funds become available and demand increases. With the connections, teachers are able to integrate the use of the Internet in their class curriculum, access instructional management tools, and communicate more effectively. Students must obtain their parents permission to use the Internet and are provided supervised access during classes. Through the district's web site, many learning opportunities are available for students and staff from the home and other community settings.
Standardization is important for improved efficiencies.
Overall, there are 31,169 computers in the 172 schools of various makes and speeds. Approximately 70 percent of the computers are Pentium, Power Mac and Imac computers. Nearly 30 percent are older and should be updated. A district committee is finalizing a recommendation for equipping new and renovated schools as well as specifying a realistic replacement plan for the older technologies to ensure equity throughout the system. The committee's work will be completed in February 2001 and the recommendation submitted in March 2001.