Palm Beach parents could have to pay for damaged or lost school-issued laptops

Parents in Palm Beach County could soon be financially responsible for their child’s school-issued laptop computer if it is lost, damaged or stolen, according to a new measure that was proposed by the school board.

A final vote on the policy is set for next month.

The district said the Google Chromebooks, which it issued to its public school students in order to satisfy home learning requirements brought on by COVID-19, cost about $275 apiece. Michael Burke, the district’s chief financial officer, said the district experiences 8% breakage, which is slightly more than what he said is the national average of 6% breakage.

Repairs costs for those breakages total $810,000, Burke said.

“It’s significant,” he said, adding that warranties cover much of the cost.

The district said the remaining repair cost is $98,394, and $5,295 has been collected, leaving a current outstanding balance of $93,099.

Principals, based on their familiarity with the student’s home situation, could have discretion regarding which students can afford to pay repair costs, according to Glenda Sheffield, the district’s chief academic officer.

If parents don’t pay the repair cost, the student could be prevented from participating in extracurricular activities. If the parents can’t pay the repair cost, the student could do community service to work off the expense, according to the proposal.

Still, administrators seemed perplexed on how to apply and enforce the proposed regulation. Chairman Frank Barbieri admitted having “mixed feelings.”

“I certainly don’t want to force a family to go between eating and replacing a laptop that the kid brought home,” he said at the board meeting. “But these children need to be taught responsibility. We have a whole generation of children out there that think everything is free.”

Barbieri said “there’s got to be some consequences to make sure that these kids understand that that is an expensive piece of equipment” that taxpayers and organizations have helped finance.