Chicago schools lost $23 million in taxpayer-funded electronics in one school year. annual report Testimony from the Chicago Public Schools inspector general was recently revealed.
The 2023 fiscal year report, which audited the 2021-2022 school year, found that CPS could not account for 77,505 electronic devices with an original purchase price totaling more than $23 million. Technology devices include laptops, iPads, Wi-Fi hotspots, printers, document cameras, interactive whiteboards, and more.
Of the lost items, 4,897 were reported stolen and 72,608 were reported missing. Many of the devices were given to students, some to staff, and most were marked “unassigned.” This means that the item is not “assigned to a person” and “may be assigned to a room or 'none'.” The report noted.
Additionally, the report said the $23 million figure does not include the value of 35% of lost devices whose “purchase price in the SY 2021-22 CPS Asset Inventory Database was blank or $0.”
“Clearly, the items had a value at the time of purchase, but that value was missing, so OIG's $23 million figure is conservative,” the report comments.
The OIG also found that CPS did not carry out “search and recovery procedures” for the lost items. He added that the district “sometimes did not make sufficient efforts to locate or recover” lost equipment.
In many cases, the same student or sibling reported multiple missing technology devices, the report found. A significant number of devices provided to students for distance learning purposes during the coronavirus lockdown were reportedly not returned. Some officials insisted there would be no repercussions for students who didn't return the money.
The OIG report marks the first inventory assessment since in-person classes were suspended.
“During the first post-COVID-19 school inventory, CPS schools found that technology equipment was lost or stolen at an unacceptably high rate because the inventory process was flawed and needed a serious overhaul. “We have reported this,” the report says.
CPS Inspector Will Fletcher said: wagon tv“It's pointless, but [and] That's what our office is here to do, that's what we do. ”
“Our investigation uncovered an incident in which a pair of siblings, a brother and sister, lost nine to 10 devices at school. [and] There is no record or indication that the school district contacted the family to tell them this was an issue or to try to figure out what happened, Fletcher added.
in a statement to fox news“While some loss of equipment is expected in a district of our size, we remain concerned about the loss of public property,” CPS said in a statement.
“Our CPS team will work to streamline our systems for tracking resources, including devices, while ensuring compliance with board policies,” the district continued. “In a district where more than 72 percent of our students come from economically disadvantaged families, it is critical that we consider families when conducting device collection efforts.”
CPS said more than 12,000 missing devices have since been recovered, with many of the devices “more than five years old.” The school district estimates the current value of the missing items to be close to $2.5 million.
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