The Carlsbad (N.M.) Municipal School Board will issue $10.3 million in education technology bonds to purchase computers, software and educational technology equipment
The Carlsbad Current Argus reports that the largest portion of the money will be used to update infrastructure to improve students' access to the internet, according to Gerry Washburn, superintendent of Carlsbad Schools.
About $1.5 million will pay for wiring and technology for Cottonwood Elementary, which is still under construction. Another $5 million will be dedicated to improving connectivity, primarily for Carlsbad High School and area middle schools.
Washburn says the spending is part of a larger push to update technology and access for students and teachers.
The focus on improving technology amid the district's aging infrastructure could also mean a dedicated fiber optics line for the district, enabling it to avoid shutdowns in education when the internet fails in other areas of the city or even other schools.
The state's Educational Technology Equipment Act allows school districts to create debt without submitting the question to voters to enter into a lease-purchase agreement to acquire educational technology equipment.
