The Cobb County, Ga., school district will drop its quest to supply teachers and students with laptop computers, even as it plans to appeal a superior-court judge’s order that it suspend the program.
Judge S. Lark Ingram ruled on July 29 that officials of the 102,000-student district outside Atlanta did not specifically explain to taxpayers how the district planned to use the money from a 2003 sales-tax referendum, and merely said that the funds would be used to “refresh” computers in the district.
Though the district is appealing the ruling to the state appellate court, school officials have said they will begin working on a new technology plan.
In the first phase of the program, the district would have spent $25 million to give laptops to all 7,100 teachers in the district, as well as to students at four high schools. Eventually, the plan was for all middle and high school students to be assigned take-home laptops.
