DARLINGTON, S.C. – Graduating seniors of the Darlington County School District will be allowed to purchase their district-issued MacBooks this year, the Darlington County Board of Education decided recently. This will be the second year in a row the board has made the decision in an effort to reward seniors for all of their hard work in the midst of a pandemic.
In most cases, the laptops were assigned to the seniors when they were freshmen, and the students used the same laptops throughout their high school careers. Graduating seniors who paid their technology fees all four years while in high school will keep their devices with no extra fee, as long as the MacBook was purchased as a ninth grader in the 2017-18 school year. Newer devices will be exchanged for devices purchased during that time.
Seniors will be required to turn in their laptops to have school district programs removed and the computers reformatted. After a device is reformatted, schools will schedule a pick-up date and time for the student. When the laptops are returned to the students, the students will sign an agreement relieving the district of all responsibility for the computers. Laptops that are not turned in for reformatting will be disabled and reported as stolen.
If a graduating senior has not paid all technology fees during high school, a fee will be due in order to keep the MacBook. The fee schedule is below. Students who have been enrolled in DCSD for:
Four consecutive years and have paid technology fees each year - $0
Three consecutive years and have paid technology fees each year - $50
Two consecutive years and have paid technology fees each year - $100
One year and have paid technology fees - $150
Any length of time and have not paid technology fees - $150
Graduating seniors with damaged devices should contact their school as soon as possible, as the repair process may take several weeks.