Investigative reporter Yasha Levine digs into the iPad mess in Los Angeles here.
Some corporations will make a lot of money, especially Apple and Pearson.
And meanwhile, many Los Angeles students will be in overcrowded classrooms and will not get any arts programs because of budget cuts.
This story is not going away.
It just keeps getting worse.
No one has explained where the money will come from to pay for the next round of iPads in three or four years.
But not to worry: Buying from Apple and Pearson is one of the civil rights issues of our time. It will assuredly level the playing field for kids of all races and conditions. Right?
As Levine explains:
There’s no doubt that Apple and Pearson were happy with the deal. The two companies won competitive bids to supply respectively the hardware and software for LA’s “tablets for all” program. The first phase of the project was worth “only” $30 million. But when fully implemented, the companies stood to make a killing. With roughly 700,000 students and 45,000 teachers, LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the country. At $770 per iPad (not including keyboard), the deal would bring Apple an estimated $600 million. Meanwhile, the for-profit education mega-company Pearson would make up to $75 million a year just off its software licensing fees.
There were a lot of unanswered questions about the deal, but at least one thing was crystal clear: outfitting nearly a million people with top-of-the-line tablets was going to be insanely expensive. And that’s why just about everyone that wasn’t directly cashing in on LA’s “tablets was all” scheme was baffled and outraged by it. Parents and teachers couldn’t understand how LAUSD’s top brass could blow so much money on an expensive toy at time when the district was laying off teachers and cutting physical education, art and music programs. Pointy headed academics scratched their chins at the news because there is no scientific evidence that shows tablets help kids learn or boost academic performance in any way. And others wondered why LAUSD planned to pay for iPads using bond money that was approved by voters solely for use in upgrading physical school infrastructure, especially when schools routinely lack the funds to make critical repairs.
Even the Los Angeles Times, which is normally very sympathetic to Deasy’s technocratic reform schemes, criticized the iPad deal. The paper noted with concern that Deasy not only owned Apple stock, but he had also appeared in an Apple promotional video boosting iPads as the best educational tools around.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Deasy owning of apple stock is a clear conflict of interest violation. Given the size of the deal he stands to make a significant amount in either stock options of increases in stock value: its sufficient to be grounds for legal action and firing him. Look a principal in NYC who loans his teachers 500 dollars to tide them over while DOE inefficient payroll system backpays what they owe her – can and has been fired for violation of COI rules.Hey even a principal who pays a secretary so the secretary can make a birhtday cake for a school party can be fired for COI, How is Deasy deal wiht Apple not many times more egregious violation of COI?. And what the hell is the Superintendent of a school district doing making ads for Apple anyway? and specially on something he knows nothing about (is he some kind of expert in the impact of technology on educational outcomes? Sickening.
Agree with Gabriel…However, Deasy sold his Apple stock about 10 days ago as reported in the LA Times. However, he recused himself all year from all discussions about the iPads, as did BoE member Bennett Kayser who also is an Apple stockholder.
If not for Monica Ratliff and her committee, mainly Monica though, we, the public, would still be dancing in the dark.
How are we not still ‘dancing in the dark?’ Investigative reporting? Where IS the actual investigation? It’s becoming increasingly apparent that there will never be one. And if there is, it will be just like all the ones from the past. Yes, LAUSD broke the law, is corrupt, steals from taxpayers and school children. The consequences – business as usual.
There needs to be serious malfeasance in office, and breach of trust, etc., charges filed here. Using bond money specifically targeted to infrastructure to, instead, purchase iPads, was criminal.
As the economy continues to improve, the investigative reporters are back on the job. Thank goodness!!!!
What will happen to LAUSD’s poorest, most vulnerable students with the passing of Margueritte La Motte? I am dreading the possibility that the schools in her local district will soon resemble Detroit and Chicago.
Buying from Apple and Pearson is one of the civil rights issues of our time.
Well said!
Miron Boland: of course!
Remember—corporations are people too! And for too long they have been denied their place in the sun of $tudent $ucce$$ because of, well, whatever it is the “new civil rights movement” is liberating them from.
😎
There is an elementary school in my town that is very old and in serious need of repair. This week the boiler broke and the school was without heat for two days. Luckily temperatures were high enough those days that with the use of some strategically placed electric heaters, classrooms were able to stay above 65 degrees. I can’t help but think of this situation occurring at an LAUSD school in the next few years and how it would play out. I hope that in May or June no one is saying “oh it’s too bad that the a/c is broken and there’s no money to fix it and it’s 90 degrees in these classrooms, but at least the students all have iPads!!”
Allison,
The a/c never works right in LAUSD schools. Nor does the heat. Not in the poorest neighborhoods, at least. But that’s just a tiny inconvenience for teachers and students. I just read an article about the LAUSD suites for school police and other administrators. Deasy is gushing over himself, as usual, claiming that it will save the district money because they won’t have to rent them out. !!!!!????? It doesn’t matter how absurd his excuses are. But, they’re probably built on a pile of toxic waste. At least, I hope so.
The wifi is super janky, too. Every now and then, we have to submit our roll on a piece of paper. Can you imagine administering/taking tests with the hit and miss wifi? Maybe students will hack, or cut wires on testing days.
Where’s George?
Arne Duncan came to town. He castigated the superintendents that were still “wasting” money on textbooks, claiming that the books are “basically obsolete from day one.” Not one reporter challenged him on this statement. It would have been lovely if someone had handed him an algebra textbook and challenged him to point out how it was obsolete.
There are so many disturbing points with this iPad thing – disregarding the voters’ intent when they voted for that bond, the massive waste of money while there are RIF’d teachers who haven’t been reinstated, and we know there will be a large percentage of lost/stolen/broken/fenced devices. Two other issues that fuel my disbelief and enragement: 1. An iPad for EVERY STUDENT??! Would this include students with behavior challenges that throw objects such as sewing machines and fire extinguishers, and like the sound of breaking glass? ( Yes, I’m speaking from experience!). Will special, durable cases and glass protection be purchased for these students? Will accommodated software be installed for students with moderate-severe disabilities who are working on the alternate curriculum? Will the installed software be captioned for Deaf students, and have voiced descriptions for students with visual impairments! What accommodations will be made for students who need adapted hardware, such as a special stand or hardware? 2. The iPads will be obsolete in….2, maybe 3 years, right? One of my students with autism’s parents bought the first iPad. This was a lot of money for them. The student uses the device, but I felt bad when a year later the iPad2 came out with photo capability. When I started teaching I had a Mac SE. Three years later I was using it as a bookend. At the end of the day I hope the iPads will be sent to Third World Countries, maybe through an organization such as the Peace Corp, and will not end up in the landfills as e-waste. Can a CEASE AND DESIST order be put on this train wreck?
oops… I meant to type “hardware, such as a special stand or stylus…”
I can’t believe that a civil lawsuit hasn’t been brought against the LAUSD and Dr Deasy for this iPad mess. The funds are coming from the bonds voters said yes to for repairs of the schools, not technology! Such a sad day for students…what a hypocrite Deasy is when he says he cares about students but allows them to sit in overcrowded classrooms in schools that are in need of repairs. I’ve worked in a school that has no handicap ramps, only staircases…how can a wheelchair bound student access a classroom..so much for his caring about his students.
Oh well, as a teacher in the LAUSD I don’t have to worry about getting a great review on my Stull, Dr Deasy was only given a satisfactory when he met 2 goals out of the 17, good enough for our leader, it’s good enough for me as a teacher! Way to go Dr Deasy, you lead by example, and excellence isn’t in your vocabulary, I guess it wasn’t put in the iPad software!
We teachers at LAUSD can’t get the computers we use in the classroom repaired right now! No money for techs. Who will repair the 745,000 ipads when they break down?
Nobody! It’s about Apple and Pearson making big bucks. Deasy may also score a bonus with Eli Broad by bankrupting the district. Hello, Chicago.
Where is the outrage over this criminal activity? Is everyone so passive that NOTHING matters anymore? The program which is estimated to cost over $1,000,000,000 in LAUSD could solve a few of its problems. What’s in store next? And how come there aren’t a stream of lawyers lining up at the door for this obvious lawsuit?
Outraged,
All the politicians in Los Angeles are bought by corporate billioniares. This includes school board and especially, John Deasy. They answer to no one.
Yes, but those are tax dollars that are being stolen by a public official. Why doesn’t somebody call him on it? Perhaps even civil rights violations for stealing from poverty-stricken children. People are so apathetic is sick.