Posted on 01/10/2024 5:40:22 PM PST by TigerClaws
Chicago Public Schools Inspector General William Fletcher’s office found 77,000 laptops and other tech devices to be lost or stolen. “We’re looking at fraud, waste, misconduct,” he said. NBC 5’s Mary Ann Ahern reports.
What happened to $23 million worth of tech devices at Chicago Public Schools? In a wide-ranging annual report detailing the more than 2,000 complaints received by CPS' inspector general's office, IG William Fletcher said the schools need a complete overhaul on how to track lost or stolen laptops and other tech devices.
"We’re looking at fraud, waste, misconduct," Fletcher said.
Fletcher's office found 77,000 laptops and other tech devices worth $23 million to be lost or stolen.
"In the same year where these devices were reported lost or stolen, the district, CPS, spent $124 million on tech assets," he said
Reema Amin, a reporter for Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization, noted: “In reality the district doesn't really have a reliable way to track where their devices are going or really to hold staff and students and families accountable."
Chalkbeat and WBEZ first disclosed how CPS spent $308 million in COVID relief money on technology without a reliable tracking plan.
The IG is offering 16 recommendations, and "the district has agreed in varying degrees to act on all 16 of those recommendations," Amin said.
Last year the IG also received 446 sexual misconduct complaints. The office determined 7% were sexual acts, while 26% were other sexual misconduct allegations and 67% were guideline violations.
Fletcher said that includes "giving students rides without informing the parents or the school, texting with students late at night. Those allegations may not be sexual on their face but have to be investigated because, if not, they could lead to much more serious misconduct."
During the pandemic, the government offered Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, but the IG said CPS employees lied on their applications and did not qualify. In total 810 employees took PPP loans, and in the last year, 16 of them were fired or resigned once questions were asked.
Fletcher said his office is not done.
"We have focused our investigation on year-round employees who are high-dollar earners who know better than to cheat the government," Fletcher said.
CPS released a written statement reacting to the report. On the 77,000 lost laptops and other tech devices, CPS said, "the majority of the 77,000 assets … were well over 5 years old." The district added, "the typical lifespan of a computer is five years. Many of the lost assets were thrown out by schools due to their age."
This is my shocked face.
“446 sexual misconduct complaints..... 67% were guideline violations. “
Oh, the misgenderment
“...tech devices worth $23 million to be lost or stolen.”
They weren’t “lost” — THEY WERE STOLEN!
Stolen and sold to the highest bidder
How does this compare to the big scandal they had years ago with rental cars?
77,000 laptops! That's a lot of hardware to just "disappear."
Chicago has theft down to a science! (Or is it an artform?)
Or traded for nose candy, bling, etc.
The problem is widespread. Not just Chicago.
Family members in public education noted than during the ‘pandemic’ the schools just gave away Chrome books and laptops to anyone that wanted one. No determination of need, no record of who they were given to, or even confirmation that it was a school student or that the adult picking up the device even had a child enrolled.
Almost none were returned when normal classes resumed. Administration and teachers bitched about not having enough Chrome books and reordered thousands. No one was held accountable.
..........years of Union teachers give a sh!t attitude and affirmative action coupled with MSM and the marxist democratic party politicians in charge. No surprise here.
Pssst.. E-Rate….
L
“We’re looking at fraud, waste, misconduct,”
So nothing new happening in the Windy City, you say?
They were mostly chromebooks. They are basically worthless junk that schools pay 250 bucks each for and the students get frustrated and break the screens because a they are crap and b you can’t do anything with them except Google Chrome. Prove me wrong. I have seen stacks and stacks of them that have been abused by students and the adults can’t fix them. They pile up. A stack in this case is 20 chromebooks. 5000 dollars. I have seen several hundred useless Chromebooks in stacks. Multiply that by a dozen schools and you can get to 20 million dollars without any evil intent.
Chromebooks are complete garbage. Nobody wants to steal them they are not worth stealing. They go obsolete in 5 years so they have to be replaced. They are even more useless when they are 5 years old and obsolete because chrome OS can’t be upgraded.
Heh; I didn’t know those Chrome lappers were that cheap.
I bet the “hacker market” is somewhat lucrative for the school thiefs, if they can be wiped/reloaded w/ hacker’s software.
I think you missed the point. It’s about irresponsible loss of school & taxpayer property.
In Los Angeles Apple was found to have bribed school administrators so they could sell Apple pcs. Chromebooks were another scandal where they were being stolen and kids could hack them to get anywhere on the internet. Plus there was a teacher who was turning on the pc’s camera and watching the kids in their bedroom.
Times this by all the schools in the country.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.