“The Cobb County School Board moved to terminate its contract with Apple Computer late Sunday based on an investigation that found that the school system ‘deceived’ the public in choosing the company to supply it with thousands of laptops,” Kristina Torres reports for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Torres reports that Kessler’s findings included:
• Apple got the contract even though it appears the company did not initially make the final cut of companies to be considered.
• Central Office staff “refused to tell the truth” to Kessler’s investigators. “The responses by the personnel conveyed misleading information in certain aspects and false information in others,” the report stated. “Those responsible clearly wanted to create a false impression of the results of the negotiation to justify thier decision.”
• There were “discrepancies” in record-keeping to tie the deal together.
Torres reports, “The move, approved unanimously Sunday, will likely give critics ammunition in their call for Superintendent Joseph Redden to resign. Redden wanted to provide students with take home laptops, prompting his staff to consider Apple and three other competetitors for the job.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: So, the guy made sure that Apple’s lower Total Cost of Operation would be in the running amid all of low initial sticker price champs that he knew would light the ignorant-to-such-matters’ hearts afire down in Cobb? So, he wanted a chance at providing his students the world’s most advanced operating system, instead of the world’s most porous? So, he wanted people to be able to look at Apple Mac machines that would offer students iLife ’05 versus the type of “iLifeless” machines (for example: Dell, Gateway, Acer) whose whole reason for existence is a failed attempt to be like a Mac, but cheaper? Are those such bad things? Who would want an intelligent and informed Superintendent like that to resign? They ought to give him a medal, a raise, and let him buy Apple iBooks with Mac OSX Tiger, the best portable computers for students.
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Cobb County school board pulls plug on 63,000 Apple iBooks plan – August 02, 2005
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