Laptops, K-12 education and Portland’s “Connect Portland” grant application

I’ve called for Portland Public Schools to provide high schools students with laptops and to become an international leader in online education (here). I’ve worried that no one from PPS or PSU testified in support of Portland’s Google application for very high speed fiber development (here). And I’ve praised Canby High School for its laptop loan program (here). Now there’s further concern. Portland has submitted a “Connect Portland” grant application. PPS and the other K-12 school districts in Portland do not seem to be involved.

The “Connect Portland” project proposal (here) sums up the project:

Connect Portland describes addresses the critical need for broadband access by Portland, Oregon’s most vulnerable residents. It brings together 18 partners and a 35% project match to double public computer capacity by adding 787 desktops and loaner laptops at 33 strategically located, accessible locations, and will deliver targeted training and job-search help in 7 languages.

And more specifically:

Connect Portland will expand broadband access at 33 new and expanded public computer centers across the City, with 156 new desktop workstations at 8 of those centers and an innovative loaner laptop program with 631 netbooks at 33 of the centers. The loaner laptop program creates a public computer center without walls—enabling residents to use a computer at any hour of the day or night and to access the Internet via public Wi-Fi hotspots. The City has initiated discussions with private Wi-Fi providers about participating in and contributing to the project.

And as to costs:

Connect Portland represents an $11.7 million overall investment—$7.6 million in federal funding, paired with a 35%, $4.1 million match (cash and in-kind).

It’s all wonderful stuff, but among the 18 partners I do not see one of Portland’s school districts listed. On page 43 of the proposal, I do see that four of the public computer centers will be in K-12 schools, but no details are given.

Also, I like to know what each laptop is going to cost.