THE REVIEW INVESTIGATES– How Do We Pay For Technology?

At Rangeview High School, technology is all around the school. Every classroom and student use some sort of technology. Each student gets a Chromebook checked out to their name at the beginning of the year, and each classroom has a set of Chromebooks, and TVs, and the teachers have their own personal computers provided by the school. 

Technology is not only used at RHS but throughout the district of Aurora Public Schools. This money comes from a complicated budget that fluctuates each year. 

The money is separate from the central budget that goes into the actual school and the activities within the school. The APS Budget tool for 2021-2022 shows the overall money used in the district, and $10.7 million goes into ‘Information Technology’. Out of that $10.7 million, $1.5 million goes into educational technology. The APS Division of Technology is used throughout the district to provide learning resources and access to information through the use of technology. 

One of APS’s main goals for where the funding of their money goes is to ensure there is enough funding for educational technology, that allows room to provide resources online for students to reach their fullest potential. 

Something else that decides the funding of technology is the Mill Levy program, this is a program that approves decisions people vote on regarding funding for classroom technology. 

In the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for APS for the year 2021-22, information came out stating, “This year, with the assistance of state grants, federal funds, and additional property taxes, significant one-time investments were made in instruction, operations, and maintenance, and information technology.”

The money APS gets for technology comes from the Capital Reserve Fund. This money is technically leftover money, but it is there for things such as technology/information technology. 

Specifically for Rangeview High School, there were recent purchases of technology. These purchases were separate from the general funding of technology since they came from the COVID money given to schools due to the CARES Act, where the money had to be spent in a specific time frame. 

The recent purchases of technology included touchscreen TVs and Chromebooks. Some students think these purchases were useless, while others believe the school could have spent it on newer, more recent technology in regard to Chromebooks. 

“I think [the technology] could use [advancements], especially since the Chromebooks are out of date compared to other schools. I know that people in Cherry Creek have a lot nicer Chromebooks and sometimes they don’t work very well, so I think we could use more technology advancements,” said junior Danica Green. 

The money that is regularly given to RHS for technology doesn’t have a time frame to be spent; it can be put aside and used for purchases in the future. 

“We can see the technology was aging out so they would anticipate the need and put the money in their budget for the things that would need to be replaced in the future,” said Assistant Principal Mrs. Strouse.

Under the technology category comes the question of whether or not RHS can fix the WiFi within the building. This has been one of the biggest problems, but there is still a question of how to fix it. However, it does not come down to Rangeview making the decision. The ultimate decision would come from the APS district. 

APS’s funding of technology comes from voters deciding what is best for the students, and most technology is used to support students and their futures.