“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.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Cobb County school board pulls plug on 63,000 Apple iBooks plan – August 02, 2005
Judge shuts down 63,000 Apple iBooks for Cobb County students – July 29, 2005
One Cobb County Apple iBook audit expected to finish soon – July 27, 2005
Inquiry into Cobb County Apple iBook bids requested – July 14, 2005
Cobb County iBook saga: allegations that school leaders pressured employees to pick Apple – July 11, 2005
Lawsuit to halt Cobb County’s 63,000 Apple iBooks for education plan goes to court today – July 08, 2005
Cobb County’s Apple iBooks in schools saga continues with lawsuit – June 04, 2005
Lawsuit filed to stop Cobb County’s Apple iBook program – June 01, 2005
Cobb County school board approves Apple Mac plan; could eventually distribute 63,000 iBooks – April 29, 2005
Henrico school board dumps Apple Macs, picks Dells with Windows – April 29, 2005
Cobb County school officials intend to move forward with Apple iBook program – April 21, 2005
Cobb Commission chief urges delay in Apple iBook program, says issue has become too emotional – April 20, 2005
No conflict of interest in ongoing Cobb County Apple iBook saga – April 19, 2005
More controversy in Atlanta-area school district’s plan to buy Apple iBooks – April 16, 2005
Cobb County Georgia approves first phase of plan that could equip schools with 63,000 Apple iBooks – April 15, 2005
Atlanta-area school district on verge of deal for 31,000 Apple iBooks – April 12, 2005
Cobb teachers voice concerns over using Macs for proposed laptop program – March 29, 2005
Cobb County Georgia meeting discusses plan to equip schools with 63,000 Apple iBooks – February 24, 2005
Report: 90 percent of emails opposed to Georgia’s Apple iBook program – February 10, 2005
65,000 Apple iBooks for Georgia schools one of the largest school laptop programs in the country – February 10, 2005
Georgia school district to propose 63,000 Macs for students and teachers – February 07, 2005
killed their OWN deal by dishonesty. Too bad, they could have given students the iBooks they deserved.
MDN’s take paraphrased: The ends justify the means.
Now there’s a lesson to teach your kids…
I smell a rat. Something just doesn’t seem right with
all this. I wonder if there was a man on the grassy knoll in Cobb County. Keep an eye out for political ku.
I think the whole idea of providing an entire school laptops, either Mac or Windows, is ridiculous. Lets face it, most of these students have difficulty making change or spelling correctly. If the district wants to spend money efficiently, they should make sure the students have a grounding in the basics, that is: reading, writing and mathematics. Heck, half the teachers can’t do division without a calculator. Too much money is spent today on spurious activities and useless administrators. That money should go to teachers merit programs to reward those who produce successful students.
Being from Cobb I can tell you that Apples cost was very aggressive and competitive. What broke the deal is that the cost of the machines versus what was put on the ballot didn’t jive. Hence the lawsuit and the injunction. I have been a Mac user since the beginning but as a parent I wish there was a way to to use this money for extra teachers instead of computers. Unfortunately the money can’t be used for labor or facilities. Oh and Kessler’s investigation won’t be the only one, so we’ll have to see if the other investigations agree.
I’d like to know who is paying Kessler. Some “industry
group” that is actually Dell and Microsoft?
Schools should not have Dells because
1) they get infected in minutes with viruses that mail out porn spam.
Parent’s don’t want porn on the school computers,
2) Unix is the operating system of the future, around the world.
Not OSX but Linux. But OSX is fairly compatible.
that said, I do agree with the comments that the money might
have been better spent on books and teachers.
Hey Macoholic…is Newt Gingrich a Mac-o-phile?
Just wait, pretty soon the Cobb / Apple mess will be blamed on Hillary!
Afterwhich there’ll be an independent counsel, neverending stories about Cobb MacGate, Monica MacCigars, and more… Ohhhhh i hope not.