A leading business group says Maryland schools need to spend $400 million for computer equipment and teacher training during the next four years to give students the high-tech skills they need for the 21st century.

The good news is that significant funding has been going to school system technology accounts, according to the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education's updated technology plan.

The Maryland State Board of Education yesterday endorsed the four-year plan, "State of Innovation: The Maryland Plan for Technology in Education, 1999-2003."

"It makes us all take deep breaths. That's a significant amount of money," said June Streckfus, the roundtable's executive director. "We think this is a do-able plan."

She estimated that $80 million to $85 million is being spent annually, though the amount varies widely among the state's 24 school systems. The state education budget will have an extra $3 million to $4 million for technology next year, she said.

The money will be used to improve Maryland students' access to the Internet. The plan calls for a high-capacity computer for every five pupils. Today, there is one for every 12. "All schools have access to the Internet, but it may not be in instructional areas," Streckfus said, drawing on a technology survey the roundtable published in September.

The roundtable also wants to ensure that schools in high-poverty areas have equal access to equipment and training. Streckfus said the group would work especially with Baltimore to increase business support and steer discretionary money into technology.

In addition, the plan says 30 percent of the amount spent on hardware should be earmarked for teacher training -- one of the ** biggest needs in technology, according to the survey. By 2003, every teacher should be able to operate a computer independently, carry out Internet searches, send and receive e-mail and weave technology into instruction, the plan says.

The roundtable, a coalition of about 100 businesses, issued its first technology plan in 1995, starting the initiative that led to more than $150 million being spent on technology in state schools over the past three years, Streckfus said.

Pub Date: 12/10/98