SALINAS - In an education alert, lockers, and even backpacks, are history.
Now reading, writing, and arithmetic are going to cyber space for students at one central coast school.
It's a format that kids are familiar with: Doing everything virtual.
Mike Brusa, superintendent for the Santa Rita School District, said: Why not have all one thousand students in the district get their books online?
He said it's just a hassle for students to have to carry all of their textbooks and store them inside of a locker, when they can get all of their material online.
"Kids just love this kind of stuff," Brusa said. "We think more kids will be motivated to finish their homework, do other kind of things in a format, as younger individuals, they're used to."
The district already has a contract with publishers for the next few years to put the books online, but it just never used it.
And so now it's taking the time to work out the kinks of the system to get everyone up to speed.
Brusa said instead of about $50-$70 per student, it costs about $4.50 per student, at least for one subject.
He said instead of having to deal with maintenance issues and the inconvenience of dragging books to and from school, kids can learn in a format more comfortable for them.
"This is just an environment that they're used to," Brusa said.
The district doesn't expect everyone to have Internet access at home, so some students will still use a hard copy at home.
As students head back to school, parents won't be the only one paying up for supplies.
Studies show teachers across the country will spend a total of $1 billion this year.
