Freshmen have the option to keep their mLISD laptops over the summer if they pay next year’s fee before May 19.

“I like being able to keep my laptop because I’ll be able to use it when I want,” freshman Emilie Krienke said. “I also want to keep it because it was new this year so I’ll know that I’m the only one who used it.”

The fee is $70 and $35 for students with free or reduced lunch. Students can pay on online or they can bring cash to the bookkeeper.

“One of the benefits of paying now, is that students won’t have to pay in the fall,” Media Learning Specialist Shannon Minton said. “I know students have a lot of fees to pay once school starts so this is just one more fee they don’t have to pay in August. Plus, they can come to the first day of school with their laptop already prepared.”

Students who don’t pay the fee by May 19 or who aren’t enrolled in the school next year will have to turn in their computer, power cord and sleeve. The school will store it over the summer and then re-issue it in the fall once the fee has been paid.

“The whole goal of mLISD, is to get the equipment in the student’s hands,” Robertson said. “And it’s going to be labor intensive and costly but in the long run, we will be able to turn it over so we can put it in every kid’s hands.”

Students who don’t keep their laptops in the summer will receive the same exact laptop that they turned in to the school in the spring. Next year, freshmen, sophomores and juniors will receive Lenovo laptops to use.

“For me, it’s going to be a huge transition,” Robertson said. “The roll out process of getting all of the students computers, then giving them back, year in and year out, is going to be a huge task. But in a couple of years, once we flipped it all out we will start rolling them more efficiently and it will be pretty easy.”