the system, which seemed incredibly expensive. For the amount the district would be paying to install and maintain it, they could have hired two to three beginning teachers. From Ali’s point of view, paying teachers to teach was far more important than being able to monitor where everyone was.
People in favor of the system, the ones who spoke out in publicabout it, sang its praises from a student-safety point of view. Outspoken opponents, including some students and faculty members, compared it to putting ID chips in dogs or the Nazis requiring every Jew to wear a Star of David sewn on his or her clothing. They objected to the tagging on constitutional grounds as a violation of prohibitions against unlawful searches and seizures. It was from one of those quotes, namely in the dog-ID-chip comparison, where Ali first encountered the name of Everett Jackson, identified as a longtime San Leandro High School faculty member and computer science club adviser. The article mentioned that several club members had been in attendance at the meeting and had applauded Jackson’s statement of objection.
The files dealing with school board meetings were grouped together, so this article was not the only one dealing with the topic; over several months, SFLS was listed under old business in the meeting agendas. In April of the previous year, the school board had approved the purchase at a rancorous meeting where no further provision for public comment was allowed. The next meeting after that, the one in May, dealt with the unauthorized intrusion and interruption of service, by person or persons unknown, of the school district’s server.
Ali made a note in her file. The server disruption had happened in April. When the school board met in May, the culprit, Lance Tucker, had not yet been identified. Between the articles about the April meeting and the one that followed, Stuart had inserted another article, this one from the Los Angeles Times , which featured a profile of an up-and-coming businessman named Daniel Crutcher. Ali had to read through the article before she understood his relevance. Mr. Crutcher was United Tracking Incorporated’s ace salesman in the U.S. He spoke enthusiastically about the importance of San Leandro’s pilot use of the program as a model for schools all over the U.S. “Before long,” Crutcher was quoted as saying, “these systems will become a basic part of the country’s educational system, as necessary as pencils.” In another part of the article, he said, “That way, in case of a serious emergency such as a school shooting or an earthquake or flood, school officials willbe able to tell anxious parents exactly where they will be able to find their children.”
Ali stared at the man’s photo for a long time. Was this guy on the moon or what? Did he know any actual kids? More to the point, did he know any teenagers? Ali did, and she understood there was a good chance that those “anxious parents” would still be unable to find their children. Just because the kids were supposed to wear the bracelets didn’t mean they would.
There was a discreet tap on the door to Ali’s room. “Time to go forth and meet our guests,” Leland announced.
Ali looked up in surprise, shocked to see how much time had slipped through her grasp while she was dealing with the minutiae of the San Leandro school board. “I’ll be right there,” she said.
She took a minute to change out of her travel clothing and refresh her makeup before joining Leland in the sitting room. He was nattily dressed, with a brightly colored red vest under a blue sport coat and a matching red bow tie properly tied and sitting at a jaunty angle at the base of his scrawny neck. His white hair was properly combed, and a cloud of musky aftershave wafted into the air as he moved. He stood still while Ali examined him. “Well,” he asked, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. “What’s the verdict?”
“You’ll do,” she said with a
People in favor of the system, the ones who spoke out in publicabout it, sang its praises from a student-safety point of view. Outspoken opponents, including some students and faculty members, compared it to putting ID chips in dogs or the Nazis requiring every Jew to wear a Star of David sewn on his or her clothing. They objected to the tagging on constitutional grounds as a violation of prohibitions against unlawful searches and seizures. It was from one of those quotes, namely in the dog-ID-chip comparison, where Ali first encountered the name of Everett Jackson, identified as a longtime San Leandro High School faculty member and computer science club adviser. The article mentioned that several club members had been in attendance at the meeting and had applauded Jackson’s statement of objection.
The files dealing with school board meetings were grouped together, so this article was not the only one dealing with the topic; over several months, SFLS was listed under old business in the meeting agendas. In April of the previous year, the school board had approved the purchase at a rancorous meeting where no further provision for public comment was allowed. The next meeting after that, the one in May, dealt with the unauthorized intrusion and interruption of service, by person or persons unknown, of the school district’s server.
Ali made a note in her file. The server disruption had happened in April. When the school board met in May, the culprit, Lance Tucker, had not yet been identified. Between the articles about the April meeting and the one that followed, Stuart had inserted another article, this one from the Los Angeles Times , which featured a profile of an up-and-coming businessman named Daniel Crutcher. Ali had to read through the article before she understood his relevance. Mr. Crutcher was United Tracking Incorporated’s ace salesman in the U.S. He spoke enthusiastically about the importance of San Leandro’s pilot use of the program as a model for schools all over the U.S. “Before long,” Crutcher was quoted as saying, “these systems will become a basic part of the country’s educational system, as necessary as pencils.” In another part of the article, he said, “That way, in case of a serious emergency such as a school shooting or an earthquake or flood, school officials willbe able to tell anxious parents exactly where they will be able to find their children.”
Ali stared at the man’s photo for a long time. Was this guy on the moon or what? Did he know any actual kids? More to the point, did he know any teenagers? Ali did, and she understood there was a good chance that those “anxious parents” would still be unable to find their children. Just because the kids were supposed to wear the bracelets didn’t mean they would.
There was a discreet tap on the door to Ali’s room. “Time to go forth and meet our guests,” Leland announced.
Ali looked up in surprise, shocked to see how much time had slipped through her grasp while she was dealing with the minutiae of the San Leandro school board. “I’ll be right there,” she said.
She took a minute to change out of her travel clothing and refresh her makeup before joining Leland in the sitting room. He was nattily dressed, with a brightly colored red vest under a blue sport coat and a matching red bow tie properly tied and sitting at a jaunty angle at the base of his scrawny neck. His white hair was properly combed, and a cloud of musky aftershave wafted into the air as he moved. He stood still while Ali examined him. “Well,” he asked, sounding uncharacteristically nervous. “What’s the verdict?”
“You’ll do,” she said with a
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