California Districts Look To Digital Options Amid Textbook Funding Cuts

McClatchy (3/25, Gutierrez, Reese) reports, "A significant decrease in the amount of money school districts throughout California spend on textbooks is pushing some to experiment with e-books in order to achieve long-term savings. However, many school administrators say if there isn't money for textbooks, there certainly isn't money now for the wholesale adoption of electronic textbook devices, like iPads and netbooks." According to McClatchy, "In Sacramento's four-county region, spending on state-approved, core curriculum textbooks plummeted by 55 percent, or $15.5 million, from 2008 to 2010, according to a Sacramento Bee review of newly released school district financial data."