Federal dollars will go towards purchase of computers for Columbus students

Students of the Columbus City Schools District will be supplied with Chromebooks thanks to funds from the United States CARES Act. 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act was passed in late March, and it sent $157 million from the United States Treasury to the city of Columbus. 

Wednesday, Mayor Andrew Ginther and the Columbus City Council announced that $7 million of that would be spent ensuring that local school children have the technology they need should their schools start the year with distance learning.

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“Having these Chromebooks, internet access can be an incredible equalizer with respect to education for now and into the future,” said Ginther. 

Although Columbus City Schools has not committed to a plan for this fall, the latest communication superintendent Dr. Talisa Dixon shared with teachers and staff indicated that they were at least considering going fully remote to start the school year on Sept. 8. 

“The city of Columbus stepped up and said, ‘We will help you so that your students will not have to share devices. They will not have to wonder if they’re going to connect with their teachers,’” said Dixon. “You will see some results. We’re going to make sure you see some results.”

This past spring, CCS distributed 19,000 Chromebooks to students. How this latest provision of computers will be distributed has yet to be decided, so the district is encouraging parents to visit their website for future updates. 

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