To the editor:

I felt like a frugal Luddite after reading about the school district’s plan to spend $3.22 million “to replace the laptops that the district has issued to all high school students with tablets instead” in Tuesday’s Journal-World. While technology might play a role in a young person’s education, it’s no substitute for dedicated study, untiring effort and focused attention. My casual observance suggests that modern tech often detracts and distracts from the hard work required to master a subject. Perhaps these funds would have been better spent on raising teacher salaries.

The arguments that students need a better screen to “write a long essay,” that the district needs to provide students with the latest tech to avoid “equity issues,” or to convince students that the district is “student-centered” are not convincing. Hope that taxpaying-voters will remember this questionable purchase during the next school board election.

Ray Finch,

Lawrence