A poorly worded agenda statement led the Ketchikan School Board to unanimously reject a motion to purchase about $60,000 worth of new laptop computers.
The agenda statement had said the MacBook Air laptops were needed specifically for elementary and middle school physical education programs. In an interview with KRBD Thursday morning, Board Member Michelle O’Brien said the agenda statement didn’t tell the whole story. The laptops were intended to replace older laptops, and would be used for more than just physical education.
“But, we felt as a board that we couldn’t just rubber-stamp this purchase when all we had was a write up about this computers being used for PE,” she said. “I think, as we all probably think, that it’s a very important time for us to be prudent with our money.”
The motion might come back to the board with additional information.
Also Wednesday, the School Board talked in executive session about Superintendent Robert Boyle’s contract. O’Brien said the board took no action following the closed-door session, but that a motion will be part of a future board meeting agenda.
The next School Board meeting is March 13.
