Oakland Press: districts trim tech

The Oakland Press reported on May 23 that some U.S. school districts are scaling back devices and software bought with federal pandemic relief money after years of heavy classroom technology spending. The article said districts that expanded laptops, tablets and digital platforms between 2020 and 2024 are now reassessing those purchases as federal aid has ended and schools weigh maintenance costs, distractions and classroom use. The pullback follows the expiration of the last round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief obligations on Sept. 30, 2024, under the federal program created during the COVID-19 pandemic. ### How much pandemic money flowed into school technology? The U.S. Department of Education says Congress created the ESSER program in three rounds beginning in March 2020, starting with about $13.2 billion in ESSER I and later expanding the aid through additional relief laws. McKinsey said the overall ESSER program allocated about $190 billion to public schools, while federal and sector trackers show districts used large shares of that money on hardware, software and connectivity. (publications.csba.org) The Oakland Press said estimates for pandemic-era technology spending alone ranged from $15 billion to $35 billion. K-12 Dive, citing a LearnPlatform survey published in 2023, reported that 93% of traditional public school districts used ESSER funds for hardware such as laptops, desktops and tablets, 74% for internet connectivity and 63% for software. ### Why are districts trimming devices now? (ed.gov) Sept. 30, 2024, was the deadline to obligate the final round of ARP ESSER money, according to the California School Boards Association and other education policy groups. That deadline forced districts to decide which pandemic-era programs they would sustain with local money and which they would end. The Oakland Press said some districts now describe the retreat from classroom technology in operational terms rather than ideological ones. (k12dive.com) The article said schools reported distraction, upkeep burdens and less academic payoff than expected from some devices and software bought during the pandemic period. The paper also said some educators saw benefits in fewer transition bottlenecks and clearer teacher control over lesson pace when screens were reduced. (publications.csba.org) ### Are schools actually trying screen-light classrooms? NBC News reported on May 24 that Granville County Public Schools in North Carolina stopped students from using screens on Tuesdays and Thursdays in a district experiment aimed at reducing device dependence and observing effects on attention and classroom climate. NBC said Superintendent Stan Winborne had once expected one-to-one laptops to improve learning but later concluded the district needed to test whether less screen use worked better in practice. (news.google.com) Granville County Public Schools had already publicly described the initiative in August 2025 as “Tech-Free Tuesdays & Thursdays,” saying the effort was designed to help students unplug from screens, build stronger connections and improve mental well-being. NBC’s May 24 report said the district’s results were shared by a public health professor who studied the switch. (nbcnews.com) ### What does the broader federal record show? The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a September 2024 report that districts nationally had reported spending nearly $60 billion in ESSER funds through the 2021-22 school year, with about 80% going to academic, social, emotional and operational needs. The Education Department’s inspector general said ESSER-funded technology helped many local education agencies continue instruction remotely, while also documenting implementation challenges. (gcs.k12.nc.us) Edunomics Lab continues to track district-by-district ESSER reimbursements through its dashboard, and local districts are now making post-ESSER budget decisions with those purchases in place. NBC reported on May 24 that Granville County’s screen-free experiment is continuing as educators and parents watch how the district’s Tuesday-and-Thursday model works in classrooms. (edunomicslab.org) (gao.gov)