ROANOKE, Va – School leaders in Roanoke County are making sure students have high-speed internet access to help prepare them for the upcoming school year.
This week the county received 685 internet hotspots to distribute to families who need them. The chair of the school board said although this year’s budget took a hard hit from COVID-19, providing students with internet access is vital for education.
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“We’re going to be offering some virtual lessons and the only way to do that is if you have internet access or high-speed internet access, otherwise you would never be able to participate in the lessons,” said Roanoke County School Board Chair Don Butzer.
The school division used money normally allocated to hire teachers to purchase the hot spots. Butzer said the county should have enough teachers for the upcoming school year.
The superintendent hopes to be reimbursed by the county’s board of supervisors with funding it received from the CARES Act.