Nonprofits May Get City’s Old Computers
After upgrading the city’s out-of-date computer system, the Simi Valley City Council will soon face an enviable dilemma: how to get rid of 54 perfectly functional PCs in good condition.
The solution, pending council approval: Give nearly all of them away--to public schools, the Boys & Girls Club, Kiwanis Club or any other of the city’s 60 nonprofits.
“We may end up using a few of them internally, as backups,” said Steve Elam, director of Simi Valley’s Department of General Services. “Otherwise, what we’re about to do is contact the Simi Valley Unified School District and other nonprofits via letter to see if their needs meet whatever models and specifications we’ll have available.”
The obsolete computers, 386s of various brands, are in working order but have little market value. They are being replaced through the end of the year through a computer update program called MIS 2000.
Last week, the City Council approved spending $228,731 for 98 new computers able to support Windows 95, the city’s preferred software.
“If people are satisfied with older versions of Windows and older software for word processing and spreadsheets, these would work just fine,” Elam said.
“They’re functional. Some [city staffers] are working on them right now.”
The council could consider what to do with the old computers by year’s end.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
