RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Public School Officials are now providing more answers to the public following the release of an internal Chromebook audit.
CBS 6 Problem Solvers revealed the internal report that auditors found more than 20,000 school laptops were unused.
In the update presented to the school board on Tuesday night, the administration said that audit was initially focused on procedures for the distribution and collection of the Chromebooks.
However, they said they want to now provide additional context after those findings raised questions about the number of laptops purchased.
ALSO READ: Did Richmond Schools purchase 20,000 extra laptops? Depends on who you ask.
Auditors in their initial report claimed there didn’t seem to be a formal process to monitor the collection of Chromebooks. In this update, officials said they have since implemented three new steps to fix data entry.
The administration maintains that purchasing roughly 36,000 Chromebooks since 2020 is appropriate.
They said that’s because the district needs them for school-based computer labs. It’s also for their one-on-one program to cover all students and have enough for repairs.
The administration said it was critical to have extra on hand during the pandemic due to shipping delays.
The update also noted that the district believes purchasing extra Chromebooks at any time is not problematic because of how Chromebooks work. They noted the shelf life extends well past three years since it is stored and not used and google provides updates.
As for the next steps, the district said they are currently collecting Chromebooks and validating them. They are also validating devices in the warehouse and determining the status of any additional devices.
School board member Jonathan Young said he is grateful for the audit team.
Kenya Gibson, the vice-chair, said her concern is the board not being aware that the district was buying these materials.
You can read the full update here.
