Verizon backs out from a deal to give millions of dollars’ worth of devices to Salinas Union.

For months, leaders of Salinas Union High School District have discussed entering into an agreement with Verizon Innovative Learning Schools, in which VILS would provide tablets or Chromebooks to middle school students and staff.

The negotiations came to a halt after Verizon paused the deal. “This news is deeply disappointing to a district with 85 to 90 percent of students in poverty,” Superintendent Zandra Jo Galván said right after the board passed a resolution on Thursday, March 12, approving a four-year agreement with VILS.

The initiative was set to replace more than 5,000 student Chromebooks, which district officials estimated would cost between $350 and $600 each (and included a monthly 30-gigabyte data plan), valued at up to $3 million. The proposal also included $696,000 worth of tech support and staffing from VILS, all at no cost to the district.

“The loss of this level of external support creates a gap in the district’s ability to sustain and expand technology access at the level our students need,” Galván adds.

VILS is a nationwide initiative Verizon funds and implements with partner Digital Promise, a nonprofit focused on speeding up educational innovation. VILS provides devices, internet access, support and more to students and teachers at no charge to schools.

Teachers and parents expressed opposition to the SUHSD board about the initiative, questioning the level of parental control and Verizon’s privacy policies. “The partnership was paused by Verizon after it became clear that support from our labor partners had not been reached during the review process,” Galván says, noting many policies, including privacy and parental control, are similar to existing ones in SUHSD.

“We determined it was not the right time to move forward with the partnership,” Digital Promise representatives said in a statement, noting they are open to working with the district on future projects. Verizon representatives did not respond to questions from the Weekly.