FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 17, 1998

CONTACT: Sharon J. Wells (202) 606-1800 sjwells@opm.gov

OPM DONATES COMPUTERS TO PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL

Washington, D.C.--Children at Moore Elementary School in Philadelphia are getting their first taste of high-tech thanks to a donation of computers, monitors, and printers from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Preparing our children for the future by teaching them essential, high-tech skills is so important, and providing some of the tools to help them develop those skills is particularly satisfying, said OPM Director Janice Lachance.

On March 3, Moore Elementary School Principal Donna Saffren was on hand to accept the nine computers, four printers and six color monitors donated by OPM to the 770 children enrolled at the school. Seven computers are slated for use in the library, and will provide Internet access to the students. The others will be used for classroom instruction.

The transfer of equipment was made possible through President Clintons April 1996 Executive Order titled Educational Technology: Ensuring Opportunity For All Children in the Next Century. This order, among other things, encouraged agencies to give highest preference to schools and nonprofit organizations, including community-based educational organizations, in the transfer, through gift or donation, of educationally useful federal equipment. The order streamlined the transfer of excess and surplus federal computer equipment to the Nations classrooms and encouraged federal employees to volunteer their time and expertise to help teachers learn more about computers and to connect classrooms to the information superhighway.

Under this arrangement, federal agencies report excess equipment to the General Services Administration (GSA). In this case OPM worked with GSA and the Federal Executive Board in the area to transfer the equipment to the Philadelphia School District. The district then decided where the equipment would be placed.

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