On Thursday night, Northampton County Council will be asked to spend $825k in CARES Act funds to improve broadband access at local school districts. Under the proposal, $100,000 will go to each to the school districts of Bethlehem, Easton, Bangor, Northampton and Nazareth. Wilson, Saucon Valley and Pen Argyl school districts, which are smaller, would get $50,000.
The resolution would also grant $175,000 to Northampton County Department of Human Services (DHS) to purchase WI-FI annual vouchers and electronic equipment for underserved senior citizens and veterans within the county.
I agree on the importance of broadband, especially for schools. But that should include parochial and charter schools. All students in all schools deserve equal treatment. They are being ignored improperly and perhaps illegally.
My other point concerns the $175,000 grant to the Human Services Department to help "underserved" seniors and veterans. Many of the seniors I know have no interest in the Internet. Those who do are usually capable of taking care of themselves. I question whether there's a need among veterans or seniors. On the other hand, I know many low-income families with no or limited Internet service. This deficit hurts the education of those children. A school's broadband access can be great, but that means nothing to a student who has no way of connecting from home.
Perhaps I have this all wrong, but it seems to me that WiFi vouchers for seniors and veterans are simply an attempt to curry favor with two large voting blocks.
My generation and the one after mine have pretty much screwed our youngest. Thanks to us, they've been shacked with a major deficit, climate change and a poorer standard of living than we enjoyed. Instead of kissing the asses of the most selfish generation I can remember (my own generation), the money should go to help provide and improve internet access to students in low-income homes.
15 comments:
I'm one of those "seniors" and I have limited funds. I pay $87 month for basic cable (80 channels with lots of QVC type crap) and painfully slow (25mb) internet. If I drop the TV, my bill will be $82. So damn it, help me watch and pay for full access. Or fix the channel access.
Bernie O'Hare said:
"My generation and the one after mine have pretty much screwed our youngest. Thanks to us, they've been shacked (sic) with a major deficit, climate change and a poorer standard of living than we enjoyed. Instead of kissing the asses of the most selfish generation I can remember (my own generation), the money should go to help provide and improve internet access to students in low-income homes."
This is the worst kind of identity politics sophistry. Blaming an entire group of people - not just individuals in that group - for the woes of the world is pure and simple bigotry in its purest form. Boomers no more control the generation to which they were born than they control the gender they were born, their skin color, or their ethnicity.
What about the other districts? How were amounts figured out? Everything appears to follow the votes. Pork Barrel?
Parochial school parents pay state and county taxes. NorCo is discriminating against certain groups of children. They will be sued and lose. Woke progressivism is always expensive. Get ready to pay another of its bills.
1:03, Admit it, our generation is the ME generation. We are selfish, self-absorbed and the first generation I can remember that has actually made life worse for those who follow us. It is just the way it is. We need no wifi assistance. Give the $ to schoolchildren already.
6:46, My point is that all schoolchildren deserve equal treatment. The $ should be divided equally. I am fairly certain these grants are not proportional to the students in each district. The school districts should be asked to provide a census of students. So should the parochial and charter schools. Then the money can be distributed in accordance with that census.
Then there should be a grant program for families with schoolchildren who need wifi access. That makes far more sense than throwing money at the me generation.
6:46, My point is that all schoolchildren deserve equal treatment. The $ should be divided equally. I am fairly certain these grants are not proportional to the students in each district. The school districts should be asked to provide a census of students. So should the parochial and charter schools. Then the money can be distributed in accordance with that census.
Then there should be a grant program for families with schoolchildren who need wifi access. That makes far more sense than throwing money at the me generation. If you can identify seniors and veterans who really are in need for wifi access, I'm all ears. But I think the $ is better spent on schoolchildren in low-income families who are unable to do online classes.
Frankly, I think the resolution needs work and should be pulled.
"What about the other districts? "
I believe Northern Lehigh School District is partially in NorCo. BASD is partially in LehiCo. Much about this makes no sense.
Agree that access should be equitable.
But let's not be under the delusion that internet access makes people brilliant.
Why can't both factions benefit? My Dad enjoyed the Internet well into his 90s, but the cost of cable and Internet though Service Electric was unbelievable. Yes, he paid it, but it would have been nice if he had options other than going Internet-free. Considering the way seniors are being treated and isolated during this pandemic, giving them a break and helping them connect is a quality-of-life issue.
Wow, Bernie, you almost sound Republican with this!
And you're right that there is something wrong with Doc Rock.
@1:03 Doc Rock Yup
825K to provide an excuse to create yet another artificial divide, just so that divide is not the selfish wealthy corporate upper class paper people against the fleshy breathing working middle class and poor of any generation you choose to speak of...that would be peasant talk.
The global covid-19 super spreaders at Boeing create the 737 Max plane and its a total failure but no problem, super shedding Boeing is the Covid-19 winner with $60 billion in Covid cash.
That's enough stolen treasure to give everyone in the country free broadband, there are only 3143 counties in the whole country.
$60 billion split among 3143 counties is $19.1 million per county, and that's just the covid-19 super spreader company of Boeing.
Nothing wrong with Doc Roc. He presented an intelligent criticism of my argument and correctly observed I was generalizing
Bernie, I hope you are not sic that there is no new articles today. I am sure Wolf is trying to pummel the local bloggers in PA with cutting there inernet services. This even being if they paid for them out of there own private resources.
Just have to say the millennials are pretty much self centered too
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