A Catasauqua High School student who attends Lehigh Career & Technical Institute full time believes LCTI students should be provided MacBooks like the rest of the CHS population.

"I don't mind signing the [computer use] handbook but they [CHS] don't give us any computers," Cameron Smith, a CHS and LCTI student said at the Catasauqua Area School Board Oct. 14 meeting. "I think it would be nice to get the LCTI students laptops."

According to CHS Principal David Ascani, seven CHS students attend LCTI all day.

The administration discussed the possibility of distributing laptops to the all-day students, Ascani told board members at the meeting. He said he and the administration were not sure what types of technology LCTI permits in the classroom for full-time students.

"We talked about it," Ascani said. "We made the decision back in the summer we would not issue computers to all-day students."

Part-time LCTI students, who spend half days at LCTI and half days at CHS, have been issued MacBooks in a program that was implemented at CHS at the beginning of this academic year.

Board member Carol McCarthy spoke in favor of distributing MacBooks to all CHS LCTI students.

"There's a lot of things LCTI students could benefit from," she said.

CHS student school board representative Michael Gilmartin, who attends LCTI part-time, told board members the use of his laptop has aided him greatly at LCTI.

"It absolutely does give me an advantage over there," he said.

District Superintendent Robert Spengler noted LCTI, unlike CHS, does not have a computer-based curriculum.

Spengler said he will speak with LCTI representatives to ensure the use of computers in the classroom will not pose a problem.

"I think for the small amount we're dealing with, it should be an option," McCarthy added.

The district this fall began its one-to-one laptop initiative, with 580 MacBook distributed to students, at a cost of roughly $600,000 over three years.