The Catasauqua Area School District one-to-one laptop program has been a topic of discussion and disagreement among some board members since the program was first proposed in 2013.

However, one school board member who originally doubted its success now supports the district's program in which 540 11-inch MacBook Air devices were distributed to Catasauqua High School students.

The students have begun using the laptops in their classes and coursework this past Monday, the first day of classes of the 2014-15 academic year.

The lease program, over four years, will cost the district slightly more than $600,000. The devices come with a four-year lease and the Apple Care Protection Plan.

Board member Carol McCarthy told fellow board members at the Aug. 11 board meeting she is thoroughly impressed with a recent laptop distribution session she attended at the school.

Laptops were distributed to ninth- through 12th-grade CHS students Aug. 4 through Aug. 14 at the high school.

"It turned out a lot better than I thought," she said. "I'm very pleased to see how well this thing is going."

Board members Dawn Berrigan, Christine Naegel and McCarthy had expressed concerns with the program, which was approved by a split vote of the board. Concerns they expressed ranged from the overall cost and the insurance fee to issues relating to electronic confidentiality.

McCarthy said based on the laptop distribution session she attended, students are prohibited from accessing non-academic sites.

She also said she did not overhear many parents who disagreed with paying the $50 per year insurance fee. Payment of the fee protects the MacBook from damage and allows the individual student policy holder to take the device home.

At an earlier meeting in July, CHS Principal David Ascani had said a payment plan would be available for families unable to pay the fee in its entirety.

McCarthy further said district Network Manager Wayne Karess did a great job of explaining the computer and the requirements of the program to the students.

"I'm amazed at how well [Karess] communicated with those kids," she said.

Students in the Salisbury School District have successfully implemented the one-to-one technology.

Karess said at a previous board meeting that the Salisbury school district is an authorized Apple repair shop and will assist Catasauqua students with repairing damaged and inoperable laptops.