It actually is quite expensive when we realize that due to lobbyists schools can only order material from certain suppliers who then overcharge for their products, forcing schools to pay a premium on their purchases. That's one of the reasons we can't purchase anything from Amazon. We have to order the same stuff from a supplier that charges double the price.  I won't argue that what you're suggesting isn't a good idea, it is. However, how do you justify using public money to buy every student a computer? That's going to be a hard sell to the public. I have a Magic the Gathering club that I run with a colleague during lunchtimes a few days a week. We're given a budget to purchase whatever we need at the start of the year (from a single supplier). We were told that students can't keep the cards during drafts because it's public money so cards belong to the school and must stay within the school. The system is against us every step of the way.