Richmond City Computer Bust

    In March of last year, 500 unused computers were found in their boxes in a Richmond city warehouse. These computers were intended for distribution between two Richmond city schools: Clark Springs and Chimborazo Elementary Schools. Now, over six months later, investigators received an anonymous heads-up and discovered that 211 of 500 computers were still packed in their boxes in the same warehouse. This discovery of abandoned technology left Richmond city officals and residents in an uproar. 
    According to an article in the Richmond Times Dispatch, city auditor Umesh V. Dalal wrote a letter to Superintendent Yvonne Brandon upon discovery. In his letter, Dalal stressed the issue that these computers were bought in 2009, and with ever-changing technology, they have been sitting in a warehouse for a year, not in use, while the value of their age and technological capabilities quickly dwindles. 
    Superintendent Brandon is not only under fire because the computers were not used, but also because of the previous claims that they had already been installed in several middle schools to help students prepare for the SOLs. In a recent article, Superintendent Brandon promises that she did not lie about the use of the computers, but rather that the Richmond city technology distribution system is significantly flawed. 
    Now, this may very well be the case. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Richmond city has a lot of issues that they have to deal with day in and day out, and perhaps the distribution of their technology isn't high on their list. But I have to side with Dalal here (and many other officials and residents, I'm sure) and say that computers gathering dust in their unopened boxes in a warehouse is devastating for those Richmond city students. The students in these schools need technology and resources to help improve their learning and achievement. While it certainly won't solve the problem, computers in the classroom and schools would provide both teachers and students with stronger resources and methods for teaching and learning.
    It's upsetting that it took an anonymous tip to a city auditor to discover that over 200 computers remained unused in a warehouse for over 6 months. I sincerely hope that Superintendent Brandon works toward restructuring the distribution system that Richmond city has in place to ensure that both students and teachers receive the technology that has been allocated to them to improve both teaching and learning.