M'ville school district to decide which is better: Mac or Windows?

MARYSVILLE – It’s one of the age-old questions that can divide a society, like evolution vs. creation or Democrats vs. Republicans?

Which is better – Mac or Windows?

The Marysville School District will make that decision May 5 when it decides how to spend money from its technology levy on computers.

District technology director Scott Beebe did not give a recommendation, but his comments hinted at one.

The Mac platform is less prone to failure, and Windows is more prone to a virus. While Windows still leads, Mac is gaining in the marketplace. And if it doesn’t work out, “We can put Windows on Macs, but not the other way around,” Beebe said.

There are 6,000 computers in the district, but only about 4,000 are functional. So, no matter which is chosen, “We will have most of all or the other, but never all the same,” Beebe said, adding the computers will be leased to spread out the cost.

School board member Chris Nation said he wants the best value, and the one that is the most user friendly.

Neither is more user friendly because no matter which is chosen, it will be new for all because the computers will be purchased with the newest format.

“It doesn’t matter what we pick, someone will be upset,” Beebe said.

Also at the district’s April 13 work session, school leaders talked about the new Marysville-Pilchuck High School cafeteria.

Finance director Jim Baker said $5 million for the cafeteria passed both state houses of the legislature. “We were sweating both designations,” he said. The district also will receive a grant for its local match for a total of $7 million, which is $1.6 million short of the projected cost. However, “We think we can do it for seven million,” Baker said, and still get back the $450,000 the district paid for initial planning. Baker said the district plans to start building the new facility in October.

Baker said the soil samples in the area are “not the best. Too much sand and water.”

Board Member Pete Lundberg called it a “bog,” like where Grove Middle School was built.

Baker said if it is like Grove, 34-foot-long columns were pounded into the ground to support that building.

Baker also went over the budget. Nation wondered if the numbers looked bad because the district has hired experts to help after the shooting at M-P. Baker said most of those costs have been paid for by federal grants. Baker did say enrollment has been down about 1 percent all year, and that has meant less state funding. Food Service is down $290,000. Baker said that is mostly because of labor costs and the higher cost of serving “nutritional meals. We can’t do pizza and hamburger every day,” he said. That has led to fewer students buying lunch, for which the district charges $1.92, the most it can.

Meanwhile, Jack Monpas-Huber, director of assessment and student information, continued his discussion from the previous session on the North Star Indicators. He talked about the high school reading scores, which show ability ranging from middle school to college level. “Kids are spread out all over the place,” he said, adding less than a third are where they should be. Fourth-graders had the best scores, with 44 percent being where they are supposed to be. Monpas-Huber said scores for the district actually were better in math.

Lundberg said he wants the information broken down even more, so leaders can see where things are going well and where they aren’t so help can be given to those who need it most. Monpas-Huber said he would get that information for the next meeting.

While this scoring system is new, Nation said the district shouldn’t just rely on these scores.

Lundberg agreed, saying these scores won’t mean much until there is something to compare it to, in three or four years.

Monpas-Huber went over graduation rates for different races of students. “That’s really too low,” he said.

Also, Principal Shawn Stevenson of Marysville Gethcell’s Academy of Construction and Engineering talked of how intervention, intentional planning, best practices, learning targets and using consistent, similar language is helping at his school. The goal is to give students a similar experience, say in science, no matter who the teacher is, he said. His staff also talked about Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, which is being taught at the school for its third year. Stevenson said it has changed the attitude of many students, thanks to college visits and other tools. He said 52 students are going to graduate on time, and five plan to go to college. Just a few years ago that number was zero. The idea that you “are going to fail has changed,” he said.

One activity that has brought the students closer together is an after-school intramural program once a month. Not for athletes, the activity is not competitive. “The students embrace each other,” Stevenson said. About 25 percent of the students and 80 percent of staff participate. The students love interacting with the teachers in a fun way. “We hear about it for weeks,” Stevenson said.

Nation said a key to success in high school is to identify things that need to be fixed and let the middle and grade schools know so they can focus on improving those areas.

In other news:

•Results of a state audit were explained. The only issue had to do with record-keeping with Associated Student Body fund-raisers. About $1,500 was unaccounted for, but has since been found at MG. The district was told that issue is very common in high schools when students are dealing with cash. A problem dealing with special education funding last year also has been resolved, auditors said.

•Totem Middle School is having a fund-raiser for leukemia and lymphoma research. Students donate to see which teacher will wear a hot dog costume. Teachers also are giving out superhero cards to students who show leadership traits, with 10 kids at each grade level winning prizes.

•Marysville Middle School had a free throw shooting competition to raise funds for uniforms. The girls brought in $5,000 and the boys $2,100. The seventh-grade basketball team went undefeated.

•Cedarcrest Middle School raised about $4,270 for leukemia and lymphoma research. Also, all of the students went on field trips to different colleges to get them interested in going.

Windows PC Pros and Cons

Has a wider range of options

Less compatibility issues with servers

Good technical support

Hardware can be swapped out more easily

More software available

Has more security issues

Must stay up to date with driver updates, security patches, anti-virus software, etc.

Support depends on maker and where purchased.

Mac Pros and Cons

Straightforward approach to computing with fewer maintenance tasks.

Fewer vulnerabilities so fewer security issues