School laptop project has pricey goal

A plan to put a laptop in the hands of every public school student in the state will likely take a decade to roll out and is expected to cost about $50 million a year to sustain, state Department of Education officials said.

In his State of the State address Jan. 23, Gov. Neil Abercrombie pledged to move forward on a "one-to-one" laptop program as part of wider education reform efforts.

The governor has asked lawmakers for about $1 million to jump-start the project. If approved this legislative session, that money would be used to equip 1,500 students with laptops as part of a pilot project.

Expanding the program will be far pricier.

In peak implementation years, the state said, the program could cost as much as $63 million a year. Sustaining the program is expected to cost about $50 million a year for hardware, training, infrastructure, repairs and other items.

David Wu, chief information officer for the state Department of Education, pointed out that some of the money for the program could come from spending on laptops already taking place at schools. There could also be cost savings in other areas.

Wu added the laptop program needs to be rolled out slowly because it requires intensive professional development for teachers. During the ramp-up of the program, he said, about 40 percent of the funding for the program will probably go to teacher training.

"This project is really about transforming the way that Hawaii teaches its children," he said.

Wu plans to model the program after a one-to-one laptop project for schools in Maine, and laptop programs for students at Punahou School and Kamehameha Schools.

A handful of Hawaii public schools already have one-to-one laptop programs, including Kalani High School.