LAUSD Technology Hits and Misses: Now What?

In 2011 $744,000 worth of technology was stolen from schools across  the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The district is in the midst of a push to get technology out into schools. Elementary schools need technology to teach Dibels and Treasures, and high schools are eager to transition to textbooks on tablets. In the last four months alone, the district has purchased 14,000 iPads.

That number will only go up. With computers, tablets and smart phones flooding into classrooms, what is the district doing to protect its investment? That was the topic of last week’s Facilities, Audit and Budget meeting, which I chaired.

LA Schools Police Chief Steven Zipperman shared the crime trends: in 2010, 289 pieces of technology equipment were stolen, and in 2011, 139. In the initial investigation, only 2.4% of items were recovered.

From there, ITD steps in to try to recover the stolen computers. LAUSD tracks stolen computers with a “LoJack” device that is installed in every school computer. Often the LoJacks are taken out, but in the past two years, 445 computers—or nearly half—have been recovered through tracking.

The district stopped insuring technology in 2008. Because the deductible cost a half million dollars, the speaker from Risk Management argued that it was better for the district to save $800,000 on insurance and pay for our own lost computers. Additional money, he argued, should go into preventing theft in the first place. Some protocols are in place. Tech deliveries are not made before long weekends or holidays. Computer labs must have locks on the doors, and it is It is recommended that second floor rooms are used, if possible.

We called in outside experts from USC and UCLA to hear how they protect computers on their campuses. LAUSD’s “found” rate of 40% impressed our expert guest speakers from USC’s ITS Systems Security and UCLA’s School Police.

My staff also researched how other large urban school districts protect their technology. New York has district computers made in bold colors that are unique to the schools, and the district name is etched on the computers. Chicago has the same LoJack system as LA, but they install the LoJack not just in computers, but also in iPads.  They also have a more advanced tracking system.

The committee meeting taught me this: Los Angeles is doing well. I am proud of our work, and our successes. Still, I wonder if we could do better.

I would like to see the district come up with a more coherent policy around technology. We can’t keep spending precious bond funds on technology without securing classrooms and establishing who is responsible for a stolen laptop or tablet when a student or teacher takes it home. I want to see ITD and School Police work more closely to tutor our staff on how to better protect technology. And finally, I want to find the technology champions in each school, those who not only work to protect technology, but to educate the entire campus on how to use it, spread it, take charge.

This is a new frontier for LAUSD, and as we move forward, I want us to do this right.

-Tamar