By the time school resumes in Georgetown County on Aug. 22, or very shortly thereafter, every teacher is expected to have a laptop computer supplied by the district.

At a special meeting Tuesday, the County School Board approved the purchase of 260 laptops for teachers.

End of August

Once the Dell laptops arrive — which school officials say should be no later than the end of August — it will complete a three-year goal of providing the computers to every teacher.

The biggest number of the laptops — 21 — are going to Andrews Elementary, 20 are going to Georgetown Middle and 19 each are going to Maryville Elementary and Waccamaw High.

The remainder of the schools do not need as many to equip their teachers with the computers.

Laptops for students

The board also approved the purchase of 1,800 laptops and 60 laptop carts that will be used by students in the middle and high schools while they are on campus.

Lisa Johnson, director of finance, said the district is spending about $1,100 per laptop which includes a warranty on each device that covers any damage, including broken screens.

Tax-free

The approval needed to be made this week so the district can take advantage of this weekend’s tax-free days.

District Superintendent Dr. Randy Dozier said the tax savings — combined with a special deal from the Dell company since the laptops are being bought in a huge bulk — is helping the district save more than $700,000 on the purchases.

Testing online

Johnson said one reason all students need laptop access is because starting this year, the state’s end of course testing will take place online.

By Scott Harper

sharper@gtowntimes.com