Many PCs Given to Schools Don’t Have Enough Byte

As school officials struggle to propel pupils into the information age, they are relying heavily on secondhand computers donated by local businesses and residents.

Educators say they desperately need systems with Windows software, Internet access, CD-ROM drives and networking capabilities. Unfortunately, most donated computers--including aging IBM clones and even Commodore, Apple II and Radio Shack relics--are decidedly less sophisticated.

“I still have an Atari in a box that’s been sitting around here for three years,” said Elaine Hamada, coordinator of special projects at the Los Alamitos Unified School District. “I think one day it’s going to make a valuable antique . . . or a good doorstop.”

Like the Atari, many donated machines are so outdated or decrepit that schools simply have no use for them. Officials are reluctant to spend time and money trying to repair the faulty computers because doing so takes away scarce resources that could be used for new models.

Donations that don’t make the cut are usually “cannibalized” for their parts or simply sold for salvage.

“I think people have this idea that schools are getting all these working computers thrown at us. It’s just not true,” said Angela Satterlee, technology specialist for the Tustin Unified School District, where only about 20 of the 50 computers donated last year were good enough to be placed in classrooms.

“We are getting some, but not as many as people think,” Satterlee said.

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Faced with a steady stream of well-meant but useless gifts, some school districts are becoming more selective about what computers they will accept. Irvine Unified, for example, will only take computers with 386 microprocessors or better, saying its schools have enough of the older models.

Other educators, though, are reluctant to reject any gift for fear of sending the wrong message to the public.

“When someone brings us a computer, we don’t want to turn up our nose at it,” said Michael Fine, director of fiscal services at the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. “That would not be good public relations.”

The donations find their way to schools from many sources. Corporations in the midst of downsizing staff or upgrading technology sometimes give dozens of computers at a time.

But the oldest and most problematic machines typically come from individuals, who hold onto computers much longer than businesses do.

“A computer is considered old after 18 months,” said Linda Smith, the technology specialist at Saddleback Valley Unified School District. “But I think the average person buys a new computer every five years.”

Most schools can incorporate donated IBM-compatibles and Apple Macintosh models into their classroom systems because plenty of educational software is available and teachers are trained to use the computers.

Older models and obscure brands present problems because software and replacement parts are hard to come by. Also, students and teachers are less familiar with them.

When a donation is offered, officials said, they try to find out whether the computer fits the need of the school and--more important--whether it actually works.

“You appreciate their interest, but sometimes you just have to say, ‘We can’t use it,’ ” said Dean Waldfogel, assistant superintendent at Irvine Unified School District. “Most people aren’t surprised.”

Loading up on aging systems has another key drawback: It exacerbates the technology gap between the powerful computers many students use at home and what they have at school, officials said.

“A lot of parents are buying their children expensive multimedia systems with color and sound and graphics,” Satterlee said. “The old computers just can’t do all that. They are slow, and when they break down, it’s hard to repair them.”

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Despite their limited capacities, antiquated computers are receiving a warm welcome at a few school districts, where officials use them for basic tasks such as teaching children how to type.

“We’ll accept anything that works,” said Dennis Steinwand, technology specialist with the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District. “If it works, we’ll find someone in the school district to use it.”

Mary Hasson’s fourth-grade class at Van Buren Elementary School in Placentia is among the resourceful users of aging machines.

With the help of her husband and others, Hasson has set up a row of restored IBM, Apple and Texas Instruments computers that pupils use for projects such as writing essays and doing research.

“The students get a lot out of them,” Hasson said.

Still, Steinwand acknowledged that he might have trouble finding homes for a really old machines such as a Commodore 64 or Apple II+.

“We haven’t seen one of those in a while,” he said. “Pretty soon, those will be in museums.”