>From today's Benton Headlines... -ac
GOVERNOR'S LATEST SCHOOL PROPOSAL: TRIPLE TECH FUNDS
Issue: EdTech
According to administration sources, California Governor Gray Davis (D)will
ask
the state legislature to increase education technology spending by $400
million. If approved, the increase could bring as many as 700,000 new
computers to California's K-12 schools -- and improve the state's
students-per-computer ratio from 14.8-1 to 8-1. Despite California's
longstanding role as a leader in the technology sector, its schools have
consistently scored low on edtech investments when compared with the
national average. The proposal effectively triples Governor Davis' January
edtech budget of $200 million. The new budget would commit $500 million to
new computer hardware, $50 million to Internet access and $50 million to
teacher training. The proposal is receiving bipartisan support from state
assembly leaders, though school officials in Silicon Valley have expressed
concern that the program would not allow local administrators to allocate
the funding to non-technology needs.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Dion Nissenbaum]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/govcom051500.htm)
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Andy Carvin
Senior Associate
Benton Foundation
andy@benton.org
http://edweb.gsn.org/andy
http://www.DigitalDivideNetwork.org
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