As a Santa Barbara Unified parent, I am frustrated by the slow pace of technology reform and concerned about how our limited education dollars are being spent.
Earlier this year, parents urged S.B. Unified School District to address excessive screen time, improve student safety, provide parental choice, and evaluate its one-to-one device program. The Board of Education responded with its “Tech with Intent” initiative. Months later, timelines, opportunities for meaningful collaboration, and measurable goals for success remain unclear. If “Tech with Intent” is to create lasting cultural change in our schools, reform must move forward with urgency, thoughtful implementation, and ongoing involvement from students, parents, teachers, and other key stakeholders. Students, after all, are the very people these reforms are intended to serve, and their voices must be central to the process.
On October 26, Rob Cooper, the District’s Director of Information Technology Services, confirmed that some improvements are underway, but major policy and spending reviews remain months away.
Earlier this year, a local parent and IT professional reportedly identified serious security vulnerabilities in district-issued iPads and voluntarily provided a detailed technical report to district leadership. This raises important questions about how effectively our technology investments have been managed.
An independent security audit is a necessary investment. But why are we continuing to spend taxpayer money on devices, software, and educational technology contracts without clear evidence that these purchases improve student outcomes?
Parents have volunteered countless hours researching these issues and advocating for change. Teachers are asking for more traditional, paper-based learning options. Families want healthier boundaries around screens and more meaningful human interaction in classrooms.
Meanwhile, significant educational technology purchases reportedly continue to appear on school board consent agendas, where items are ordinarily approved without individual discussion.
Where is the comprehensive accounting of our educational technology spending? What are we purchasing, what does it cost, and what measurable educational benefits are students receiving?
Our elected school board has a responsibility to oversee district spending, and district leadership must provide the transparent financial reporting necessary to do so. Parents and taxpayers deserve accountability, not more administrative process without meaningful results.
With SBUSD facing financial pressures, every dollar matters. Let’s prioritize teachers and classroom resources, and call on Educational Services to take a leadership role in shaping instructional technology policy rather than leaving the responsibility for reform primarily with the Operations and IT teams.
I urge district leadership and our elected school board to publish a complete accounting of educational technology contracts, evaluate their effectiveness, reinvest in teachers and traditional, paper-based instructional materials, and establish clear timelines for reform.
Technology should support education, not replace meaningful instruction and human connection. Putting a device in every student’s hands is not, by itself, an educational achievement.
Our children cannot get these school years back. Let’s spend our education dollars educating children, not simply buying more technology.
