Crime & Safety

Police Investigating Theft of 47 iPads From D97 Building

Police investigating theft of more than $14,000 in iPad mini tablets from the District 97 administration building.

Oak Park Elementary School District 97 is working with Oak Park police during its investigation of the theft of 47 iPad mini tablets from the Oak Park Elementary School District 97 administration building, District 97 spokesman Chris Jasculca said Wednesday. 

Someone stole the iPad minis, worth a total of about $14,500, from a second-floor room of the administration building, 970 Madison St., between June 25 and Aug. 29, police said Wednesday. 

The district bought the devices using federal funds and planned to use them for the Title 1 program, District 97 Spokesman Chris Jasculca said Wednesday.

The Oak Park Elementary School District 97 Board of Education over the summer voted 6-1 to approve the 1:1 Technology Initiative plan to put an iPad in every student's hands by 2015, starting with a rollout to fifth graders during this school year. The iPads that were stolen were "in no way" related to the 1:1 initiative, Jasculca said. 

He said the district is also working with staff to strengthen protocols and procedures in place for safeguarding district resources, and that the theft will not derail the district's plan to integrate technology in classrooms. 

The district issued a statement on the theft Wednesday.

"Needless to say, we are incredibly dismayed and disappointed that someone made the conscious decision to put their own needs ahead of those of our students. With that said, we will not allow this incident to deter us from fulfilling the promise we made during the referendum to further integrate technology in our classrooms," the statement reads. 

We will not let it derail the comprehensive technology plan we put in place three years ago to ensure that our students have access to the resources that will help them learn, grown and achieve. We will also not be dissuaded from our belief that the successful implementation of our 1:1 technology initiative will enable our children to become 21st century learners and reach their full potential."

Read more about the 1:1 Technology Initiative:

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