Due to budget limitations, the math department will not check out calculators to students for home use as it has in the past.

When teachers doled out beginning-of-the-year essentials like textbooks and syllabuses, students may have noticed one supply missing: a graphing calculator.

“Depending on the year, we were spending $3,000-$10,000 a year on calculators,” Steve Jonak, mathematics department chair, said. “The cost just became too prohibitive.”

According to Jonak, money was the driving factor in deciding to no longer provide students with graphing calculators for their classes. Before this school year, students were issued a TI-83 or TI-84 at the beginning of the year much like a textbook. They were expected to return the device at the end of the year and were placed on hold until they paid the cost of a replacement device.

“The calculators consistently needed to be replaced because they were lost by students, damaged or simply got outdated and had to be updated to a better calculator,” Jonak said. “Doing that for 15,000 math students became too much expense for the district to handle.”

Now only students in AP Calculus and AP Statistics will receive calculators from the school. Others are expected to use only the class set or purchase their own, which generally cost anywhere from $80-$150, according to local retailers.

“It’s a bit upsetting,” Tim Cassidy, sophomore, said. “I don’t just have the money for a calculator lying around.”

Jonak said all students should be able to find a way to complete their math work. He recommends the website Wolfram|Alpha, an online calculation site, for doing math at home. The district has also offered calculators to students who are unable to purchase their own if they talk to their teachers. Teachers recognize the integral part the graphing calculators play in their classes.

“I see the calculator as an extension of our books, so it would be nice if we could distribute that like we distribute books,” Maria Capasso, math teacher, said. “But with budget cuts, I understand the reasons why we can’t.”

According to Jonak, all math classrooms are now equipped with class sets of calculators for use during class time.

“In some respects it’s easier on me because I don’t have to worry about students losing calculators. That responsibility is now on the student,” Capasso said.

Cassidy said he plans to wait as long as possible before purchasing a graphing calculator. He is taking Algebra II this year, and he is planning on waiting until Precalculus next year before shelling out the cost.

“It just doesn’t make sense to me why they can’t afford calculators when they can do things like building a new science building or gym,” Cassidy said.