The Cupertino Courier

Digital High is well worth the cost

by Geoff Patnoe

Calling it "driver's ed for life on the information superhighway," Gov. Pete Wilson and the Legislature created the Digital High School Initiative as part of the 1997-98 state budget. Though the budget was almost two months late, this innovative four-year program will help give tomorrow's leaders and workforce the tools necessary to compete in the future.

The goal of the initiative, a program crafted by Wilson, is to provide Internet technology to every one of California's high schools. The budget includes $100 million in first-year funding for the program, an expensive but extremely necessary investment for the state. The initiative will eventually cost $1 billion to implement, but the state is planning to foot only half the bill, with corporate and private donations matching the state's contribution.

There is one computer for every 14 students in California classrooms, according to a 1996 California Education Task Force report. As a result, California, the high-tech leader of the world, ranks 45th out of 50 states in students-per-computer. That ratio needs to be reduced.

In Cupertino, many of our children are skilled in using a computer. However, most of California's students are not so fortunate. Legions of high school graduates leave school without learning how to operate a computer. Obviously, they are at a disadvantage when they enter college, the military or the workforce.

Companies throughout California have had to take time to train computer-illiterate employees to use the technology found in their factories and stores. This is a costly process. Thus, among those who actively encouraged the Legislature to pass the Digital High School Initiative was the California Business Round-table. This nonpartisan group comprises the principal officers of major California corporations. Clearly, the business community believes it is necessary to train tomorrow's workforce by making technology education part of the basic curriculum in California's 840 high schools.

The high school I graduated from in Cupertino has a tremendous computer facility. In fact, in 1993 Vice President Gore visited Monta Vista High School to witness the school's technology firsthand. But other high schools, even in nearby communities, do not have such high-quality tools available to them. Wilson and the Legislature hope the Digital High School Initiative will level the playing field.

In the past year, our leaders in Sacramento have been doing good things for children in California. Along with the Digital High School Initiative, the 1997-98 budget includes a record $22 billion in education funding, $1.5 billion of which will be used to extend the successful class-size reduction effort from three grades to four.

It has been said that if you give someone a fish, you can feed her for a day, but if you teach her how to fish, then you feed her for a lifetime. I was pleased to see leaders in Sacramento create a program like the Digital High School Initiative. It will help enable our children to become computer-literate before they leave high school. California is leading the way in information technology, and now we are making an investment for the future by giving tomorrow's leaders the tools they will need to compete.

Geoff Patnoe is a former aide to Gov. Pete Wilson and a 1991 graduate of Monta Vista High School. He is currently a government affairs executive in Sacramento.

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