Computer Requirement Has York H.S. Parents Digging Deep
(CBS) -- In Elmhurst, some parents are feeling pain over the cost of going digital.
For the first time at York High School, all students are required to have their own computers and some parents are digging deep, reports CBS 2's Derrick Blakley.
Student registration at York High has some parents wincing over the price of progress.
"I really had no concerns until I got to registration yesterday," said parent Julie Grainge."
Her daughter, Anna, like all York students, are required to have their own computers this year: Google Chromebooks, purchased from the school.
Some of Anna's text books are now on computer, but not all.
"I have two on the Chromebook and I have about five textbooks for other classes," Anna said.
Between buying the Chromebook, the digital content, and five hard-copy textbooks, Anna's total costs came to almost a thousand dollars.
Kathy Rutkowski has a freshman and sophomore at York.
"My concerns are the costs and the fact that since we're going digital, that there should be some cost savings instead of a cost increase," she said.
For younger students, there may be long-term savings because digital books are cheaper, but everything that's on paper now isn't digital yet, so some parents are paying twice for change.
"That's a huge chunk of money," said Julie Grainge. "That has to be a budget breaker for a lot of families."
While others say the benefits go beyond replacing textbooks.
"The teachers will record their lectures and students can watch that lecture anytime they want, at lunch, in study hall, at home at night, and the classroom is then being used for on-hands learning," said parent Sarah Diamond.
The Elmhurst School Board decided last year to implement use of Chromebooks starting in sixth grade.
There's financial assistance for low-income students to buy the machines and those with multiple kids in school.
CBS 2 wanted to talk to school officials at York about the switch to mandatory computers, but the superintendent declined and we were tossed off school grounds.