W-JCC Schools vote on $2.3 million laptop purchase and redistricting tonight

It’s Oct. 20. School board scheduled to vote on redistricting and laptop purchase that concerns parents worried about too much computer use. York to vote on staying with regional library.

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Parents concerned about excessive screen time in local schools are not happy with plans to spend $2.3 million to buy 2,650 laptops for middle schoolers at Williamsburg-James City County schools.

The purchase is on the agenda for approval at tonight’s school board meeting, which will also vote on the proposed redistricting of school attendance zones. The board is also being asked to sign a consulting agreement for up to $255,000 for an audit on its work teaching English and mathematics.

Claudia Kessel, whose son is a 6^th grade student at Berkeley Middle School, is one of 136 parents who signed an online petition asking W-JCC and York County school leaders to ease up on screen time in schools.

She is a member of a group that formed this year, Mindful Tech Reform-Historic Triangle Schools, to advocate for using print materials and limiting technology use except when there is clear evidence its benefits outweigh the costs and risks.