Oak Ridge Today

Tech initiative starts with laptop distribution at JMS, RMS in October

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Students in sixth grade at Jefferson Middle School and seventh grade at Robertsville Middle School will receive Lenovo laptops in October. It’s the first phase of the Oak Ridge Schools’ AccessOR digital technology initiative and the initial student device rollout.

Here are some specific plans, according to Oak Ridge Schools:

  • Students will be receiving the Lenovo Yoga 11e as well as a charger, protective sleeve, and insurance for each device. Lenovo calls the Yoga 11e a convertible laptop or durable multimode laptop that can be used as a laptop, tablet, tent, or stand.
  • The laptops will be etched with the Oak Ridge Schools’ logo and address.
  • The initial October rollout will include the sixth grade at Jefferson Middle School and the seventh grade at Robertsville Middle School. The choice of these grade levels came about from principals discussing the opportunity with their staffs, and it benefits Oak Ridge Schools as a whole to have teachers building out and sharing digital curricula in two grade levels.
  • The orientation/device distribution will take place from 5-8 p.m. October 20 at Robertsville Middle School and October 22 at Jefferson Middle School.
  • The kick-off will include:
    • policy/procedures/insurance discussion from school administrators,
    • digital citizenship talk from teachers about creating safe online environments for students,
    • device registration and roll out,
    • device testing with support of school staff, and
    • a question and answer session.
  • Students and parents will receive and sign a procedures and expectations document before receiving a device.
  • After learning from the initial rollout, Oak Ridge Schools plan to distribute devices to the rest of the middle school grade levels after winter break.

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City recommends budget with no tax increase, Council votes Monday

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Oak Ridge City Council

The Oak Ridge City Council is pictured above during an August 2013 meeting. (File photo)

Note: This story was updated at 7:40 p.m. June 4.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson on Monday recommended a budget that does not raise the property tax rate, setting up a potential conflict with school officials, who have requested a 37-cent tax increase to avoid cuts.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education already approved its budget in in two meetings last week. That budget, which was scaled back from an earlier proposal, could include an extra $3.3 million to start implementing a technology initiative known as 1:1 that would provide electronic learning devices to all students over three years, add five technology positions, and give 2 percent pay raises to staff.

But the budget is still subject to the amount appropriated to the schools by the city. Oak Ridge provides a little less than one-third of the school system’s funding.

While the schools have approved a budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, the city has not. The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the municipal budget in two separate meetings this month, one on June 9 and the second on June 16. The city budget also includes a 2 percent pay raise for employees.

It’s not clear that Oak Ridge City Council members will agree to raise taxes to accommodate the school system’s request. In his budget presentation to Council on Monday, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said Council members have endorsed keeping the tax rate unchanged for the seventh year in a row.

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