Darlington County Board of Education votes to allow seniors to purchase MacBooks

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Graduating seniors of the Darlington County School District will be allowed to purchase their district-issued MacBooks this year, the Darlington County Board of Education decided Monday.
 
In most cases, the laptops were assigned to the seniors when they were freshmen, and the students used the same laptops throughout their high school careers. Graduating seniors who paid their technology fees all four years while in high school will keep their devices with no extra fee, as long as the MacBook was purchased in the 2016-17 school year. Newer devices will be exchanged for devices purchased during that time.
 
"We are pleased to be able to offer this to our seniors as a way to honor them in this difficult year," said Dr. Tim Newman, district superintendent. "Our seniors and their families have faced many challenges and this is one way we can recognize their efforts. Our students will need computers as they enter the workforce or move on to college. This will hopefully help ease some of the financial burden parents face. I can’t think of a better investment than in our own graduates and their families."
 
Seniors will be required to turn in their laptops to have school district programs removed and the computer reformatted. When the laptops are returned to the students, the students will sign an agreement relieving the district of all responsibility for the computers. Laptops that are not turned in for reformatting will be disabled and reported as stolen.
 
If a graduating senior has not paid the technology fee all four consecutive years of high school, a fee will be due in order to keep the MacBook:
 

• $200 for no years of technology fees paid
• $150 for one year of technology fees paid
• $100 for two years of technology fees paid
• $50 for three years of technology fees paid

 
Damaged devices can be sent to the insurance company prior to the insurance expiration date of June 30. Graduating seniors with damaged devices should contact their school as soon as possible, as the repair process may take several weeks. Students may also need to come back during the summer to pick up a repaired device.