A Tale Of Two Schools and Digital Inequity
A survey of Oklahoma school districts in the early stages of the pandemic found that 167,000 out of 700,000 students (24%) lacked an internet connection at home (BROADBAND ACCESS across OKLAHOMA during COVID-19, n.d.). Oklahoma’s broadband access was not good before the Covid-19 pandemic came about. Oklahoma ranked 47 of 50 as far as connectivity and speed all the way back in 2018. There has been a turnaround in the state with OK Energy Today reporting as recently as December that has moved up 43 positions nationally. 58,000 locations were removed from the unserved list (Oklahoma Gets High Ranking for Expanded Rural Broadband Service - Oklahoma Energy Today, 2024).
Per their website they offer WiFi in the parking lots with no no necessity of a password from 8 A.M. to 9 P.M. daily. No information is available about any devices provided for at home use (tablets, laptops, etc), which may leave the responsibility on the parents (according to the handbook). Sallisaw High School in contrast has a student device learning program which provides students from grades 6-12 with a personal Chromebook device to utilize educational resources. Elementary students have access to devices that remain at school unless there are periods of virtual learning in place. Students who are Pre-K have access to iPad’s. The school encourages protection plans to be purchased by the parents because damaged devices will have to be repaired or replaced by the parents.
The difference between the two schools are most likely about the numbers. Central Public School for the calendar year 2023-2024 had enrollment numbers of 507 with a budget of $5,838,023.10 according to the Oklahoma State Department of Education website. Where Sallisaw Public Schools had enrollment numbers of more than double that with 1,883 with a budget of $19,879,000.00 for the same year according to the National Center For Education Statistics website. Both schools are Pre-K through 12th grade. But there is a budgetary discrepancy of 14 million dollars. This monetary divide has existed between the two schools as long as I can remember when I matriculated at Central. The difference between the two schools is Sallisaw is within the city limits and Central is a rural school that services students east of I-40 and North of old 64 past highway 101 and borders the Gans Public School on its East border. Location is decides whether you can enroll at one school or another. The boundary that decided which school I attended was the Little Sallisaw Creek on the East side of I-40. There isn’t so much as a median household income difference between the two ( $49,795 for Central and $49,162 for Sallisaw per niche.com). The things that divide access are geographical and budgetary access.
BROADBAND ACCESS ACROSS OKLAHOMA DURING COVID-19. (n.d.). https://extension.okstate.edu/coronavirus/media/household/broadband-access.pdf (BROADBAND ACCESS across OKLAHOMA during COVID-19, n.d.)
Oklahoma gets high ranking for expanded rural broadband service - Oklahoma Energy Today. (2024, December 3). Oklahoma Energy Today - Energy News Just a Click Away. https://www.okenergytoday.com/2024/12/oklahoma-gets-high-ranking-for-expanded-rural-broadband-service/ (Oklahoma Gets High Ranking for Expanded Rural Broadband Service - Oklahoma Energy Today, 2024)
Sallisaw Public Schools - Student Devices. (2025). Sallisawps.org. https://www.sallisawps.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/Technology%7CStudent%20Devices (Sallisaw Public Schools - Student Devices, 2025)
https://sdeweb01.sde.ok.gov/OCAS_Reporting/DistrictSummary.aspx?FullCode=68I007
https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?ID2=4026790
Schools, S. P. (2024, December 10). Niche. Niche. https://www.niche.com/k12/d/sallisaw-public-schools-ok/
Public, C. (2024, January 11). Niche. Niche. https://www.niche.com/k12/d/central-public-schools-sallisaw-ok/
Jeremy,
ReplyDeleteMy wife works as a paraprofessional assigned to disbursing digital tools like iPads and Chromebooks, and it's not an easy task — not just because of budget issues but also the personnel needed for maintenance, updating, and supervision. Rural schools seldom have the IT support that makes these programs work, so the disparity gets even wider. Repair or replacement costs usually end up being passed on to families (as you suggested), which may be too much for low-income schools.
Oklahoma's budget limitations in education increases these difficulties as the state falls 48th in per-student expenditure (Hanson, 2024). The rural schools bear the brunt, working under tight budgets and smaller tax pools. Closing the gap will mean state-level effort such as tech equity grant funds and collaborations with technology firms offering discounted devices. Rural schools shared IT facilities will also have to narrow this gap. Providing access to technology for all students is crucial is we expect them to thrive in today's digital learning world.
References:
Hanson, M. (2024, July 14). U.S. Public Education Spending Statistics. Education Data Initiative.
It is absolutely baffling what the state's education department is focused on, at least publicly. I can't believe there is a misconception Oklahoma is 10th in the nation. I was looking at some of those tech grants, and either the rural school here didn't apply or didn't make the cut. I didn't find any national grants or anything that would assist either.
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