The days of the Chromebook may be numbered. In recent discussions, the School Board has been opening the floor to a potential proposal: equipping every high school student with a Mac.

“We’re always working to choose the best device that can do all the things students need, and be able to manage the devices in the most appropriate way for students and staff alike. We’re always taking those things into account,” District Chief Technology Officer Luke Heitert said.

Principal Dan Gutchewsky acknowledges the shortcomings of Chromebooks, which is why he supports the district’s evaluation of where to invest money in students’ technology. However, currently, students have the option to bring their own device to school.

“By far, the most common personal device that people bring is some version of a MacBook, so just from an idea of equity, and making sure that everyone has kind of an equal playing field, that’s why the MacBook has been mentioned so much,” Gutchewsky said. “So while we’re not necessarily committed to a MacBook, the study is underway in terms of what device we’re going to choose.” 

Since the board discussion on the Mac conversion hinges on comprehensive data, the district will also launch a collaborative study involving teachers, administrators and board members. 

“[The students and staff] will be involved at some point; we’ll send out some surveys to ask them how they feel about the Chromebooks, how they feel about other devices and things that they feel they need,” Heitert said.

For some classes that require special software, the Chromebooks limit learning magnitudes. 

“Students are not able to access the apps we use in the class on their Chromebooks. This can restrict the time and experience they will have getting to know how to use those apps since they may only have access to them during class time,” digital design teacher Robert Sralla said.

Though questionnaires have not yet been released, the students are voicing their opinions.

“My biggest problem with the Chromebook is that, if I have more than 10 tabs open, it’ll take eight years to load,” senior Mars Pierson said. “Part of my keyboard is broken and disconnected from the screen plate. I’m four pieces of plastic away from a dangling keyboard. Both of those wouldn’t happen with a decent MacBook.” 

Some are in favor of this decision, while others find it rather counterproductive.

“The point of having personal computers is so that we can explore more on sites that might not necessarily be accessible. Because of this, the school providing MacBooks is not only more expensive, but it also doesn’t make any difference compared to having a Chromebook. All it would do is load faster, but just loading faster isn’t a good enough reason to waste so much extra money, which could be spent paying for more useful academic programs like Science Olympiad who don’t necessarily get enough funding,” freshman Janey Lin said.

Pierson advocates for the district to request for student feedback.

“To anything other than Chromebooks, I say heck yeah,” Pierson said. “I can’t wait to be involved in the decision-making process!”