VictoryLand donation sends iPads home

When Apple donated iPads to three Macon County Schools over the summer, it was hailed as a monumental leap forward for the cash-strapped school district.

But for more than 500 students, the effect was stunted by an inability to pay a $50 insurance fee. So, at 3 p.m. each day, the kids went home and their iPads stayed at school.

"It meant they couldn't stay connected, they couldn't get the 24-hour learning opportunity that their classmates were receiving," Macon County superintendent Jacqueline Brooks said. "It made the program far less effective than it could be."

That changed on Wednesday, thanks to a donation from VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor.

McGregor, who said he heard of the issues of the students lacking insurance while at a party, cut a check for $25,750 to cover the cost of the $50 insurance payments for 515 students.

"I would have paid it sooner had we known about it," McGregor said. "The timing was good for us, because of where we are getting ready to open. It allowed us to be able to help out with the schools and things like this again."

McGregor said VictoryLand has donated more than $50 million over the last 30 years to Macon County schools, in addition to the tax money that has been generated by the casino and dog track that has gone into the state's education trust fund.

That money essentially stopped flowing to the schools in 2012, after a series of raids by the governor's task force and later the attorney general's office forced VictoryLand to close its electronic bingo casino.

"That hurt us very badly," Brooks said. "People should just stop and think about this. We had a quadruple whammy. The economy went in the tank. There was sequestration that took 1 percent of our federal funds. VictoryLand closed. And our ad valorem taxes took a nosedive. And we were already one of the poorest districts in the state.

"I have friends in education who ask me all the time how we're even

still open."

Brooks sees the combination of gifts from Apple and VictoryLand as a particularly bright spot for the district. One of her primary concerns has been how far behind Macon's schools have fallen in the technology race.

The grant from Apple — part of its ConnectED grants that coincided with the White House's ConnectED initiative — provided iPads for students at BTW-Tuskegee, Tuskegee Public Elementary and Notasulga High. It also aided Macon in updating its Internet infrastructure within the school buildings and provided professional development for employees.

"This is a lifestyle change that really can't be exaggerated," Brooks said. "For many of our families and students, this would be impossible without Apple, and now without Mr. McGregor. I don't think people who aren't from around here completely understand that. Our students were at a real disadvantage."

McGregor said that after his long legal battles to reopen — which he believes will happen weeks into the new year — the ideas of fairness and a level playing field are very sensitive topics for him.

"No one knows better the value of a level playing field than VictoryLand," McGregor said. "It's hard enough as it is for these kids. We should do all we can to level the field and make things fair. I hope this donation does that."