"New" Laptops for Teachers

Florida Governor Jeb Bush's proposal to give a laptop to every teacher in Florida is big news this week.

All of Florida's nearly 164,000 public school teachers would receive laptop computers under a $237 million plan to recruit and retain educators, which Gov. Jeb Bush unveiled Monday at North Miami Middle School.

This story is shocking for what it tells us about the state of public education in America. With average per-pupil spending hovering around $10,000, a classroom of twenty students generates approximately $200,000 for a school district. A laptop computer for a teacher should be a standard expense of any public school. It is ridiculous that laptops are "extra" and goes to the inefficiency of the entire system. At the California charter school where I serve as a board member, laptops for our teachers are just part of the regular cost of educating children.

No wonder their is a labor shortage in education. Professionals want to be provided with the tools to do their job. School districts already receive plenty of money to afford a laptop for every teacher.