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Richland 1 superintendent says 4,300 laptops ordered; 934 due Sept. 11 as district redistributes devices
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Walker told the Richland 1 school board that 4,300 new student laptops were ordered to address shortages; 934 are due Sept. 11 and the remainder by month‑end, with more than 500 devices redistributed from schools with surpluses.
Dr. Walker, superintendent of Richland 1, told the school board on Sept. 9 that the district ordered 4,300 new student laptops to address a shortfall and expects delivery of 934 devices by Thursday, Sept. 11, with the remainder arriving by month’s end.
"4,300 new student laptops were ordered," Dr. Walker said, adding that "934 are due to be delivered by this Thursday, September 11." He said the district identified more than 500 laptops in schools with surpluses and has redistributed those to the highest‑need campuses. "So the 934 should put us in a much better position as it relates specifically to our high schools," he said.
The superintendent framed the shortage as predictable and avoidable and said the district will implement processes and procedures to prevent a recurrence: "It is my commitment as well as our team's commitment to our students, our staff, and our parents that we will put processes and procedures in place to ensure that this does not happen again."
Public commenters and board members pressed for detail. Lee Tandini said the district has an apparent multi‑year shortfall tied to bond funding and procurement, telling the board that "if we do the math between last year and this year, the district should have ordered more than 10,000 laptops to comply with its digital learning initiative" and that current totals leave an estimated shortfall of roughly 5,200 devices. Tandini asked when more laptops will be purchased and how teachers will be supported while devices are unavailable.
Commissioner Bishop thanked the superintendent and staff for addressing the problem and said the timeline refutes claims that students would not receive computers until 2027.
The district also encouraged stakeholders to complete a short calendar survey by Sept. 11 and publicized a schedule of listening‑and‑learning sessions for community input. Dr. Walker said the remaining laptops will be delivered "by the end of the month" and distributed directly to schools.
Next steps: the superintendent said the administration will follow through on the procurement schedule and internal process changes; no formal vote or new budget allocation on laptop procurement was taken at the Sept. 9 meeting.
