Campuses Cash In on Computer Campaign

Lottery fever! Catch it--and snag a bunch of computers.

At stake: $100 million for PCs, high-speed computer lines, software and training for teachers in how to use all the gear.

On Tuesday, 216 high schools across the state were chosen by random drawing to receive the first chunk of money to be given out under Gov. Pete Wilson’s Digital High School Initiative.

“Yes! Yes! I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself,” said Theresa Saunders, principal of Hoover High School in Glendale. “This will make all the difference in the world in terms of networking our schools and having everybody online and . . . having access to the Internet and e-mail.”

Wilson proposed the $500-million program in January. But it was only after some wrangling that the Legislature approved a bill allocating a fifth of the total for the first year--with a goal of handing out $100 million each of the next four years until every public high school has received a share.

To ensure that the money is distributed widely, school districts were broken into six groups by size and an amount set aside for each group. Then the drawing of names began in Sacramento--appropriately by a computer.

Each time a district was picked, one of its schools cashed in. Each district had previously listed the campuses in order of need and readiness to make use of the grants.

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By the time the computer was done, 36 Los Angeles County schools had pulled in $26.6 million, the amounts based on enrollment. Each now will have to submit a spending plan and describe how it will measure the impact on student achievement. The schools also will have to come up with matching funds, but those can come from a variety of sources, including federal programs and community donations.

Glen Thomas, manager of technology programs for the state Department of Education, predicted that the program “in very short order” will increase both the technical skills and overall academic performance of students.

A dozen Los Angeles Unified School District campuses will get the money this year, with Roosevelt High in Boyle Heights receiving the most, nearly $1.5 million.

Vice Principal Richard Chavez said the school would use the money to run fiber-optic cable to every classroom and to upgrade Internet connections--something that will benefit students at 17 nearby campuses linked to Roosevelt by computer. Parents and members of the community will also be able to sign on to the Internet through Roosevelt.

The only winner in the Long Beach Unified School District was Polytechnic High, most of which was built in 1934. The school already has four computer labs but the electrical system is so overburdened that the PCs sometimes crash several times on hot days. Principal Shawn Ashley said the $1.3 million should be enough to fix the problem, wire every classroom to the Internet and “allow our students to do research from the classroom instead of going to the library.”

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L.A.’s Lucky Schools

All public high schools in California eventually will get part of the $500 million the state is dishing out over five years to equip them with computers and related services. But a lottery was used to determine who will get their money first--and these are the 36 Los Angeles County high schools that were among the 216 winners statewide.

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School Money School Money Bell $1,298,100 La Canada $612,600 Beverly Hills $607,500 Manual Arts $1,323,000 California $718,500 Marshall Fundamental $292,800 Cerritos $840,900 Fred C. Nellis $292,800 Claremont $669,900 Nogales $802,800 Cleveland $699,900 Palisades Charter $762,600 Culver City $540,000 Polytechnic $1,323,300 El Segundo $267,900 Ramona Opportunity $47,600 Fremont $1,266,000 Roosevelt $1,493,700 Ganesha $453,300 San Marino $330,300 Hamilton $809,700 Santa Fe $755,700 Hollywood $881,100 Saugus $763,800 Hoover $931,500 Shery $55,800 Huntington Park $1,265,700 Temple City $30,000 Learning Center Jefferson $1,074,000 Vasquez $156,000 Jordan $611,400 Walnut $687,000 Juvenile Hall/community *$2,085,154 Warren $762,000 La Puente $484,500 West Covina $692,400

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* partial funding this year; balance funded 7/1/98.

Source: California Department of Education