When incoming freshmen at Bowling Green High School start school in the fall, they’ll receive Chromebooks that the district hopes will help enhance their education. 

Bowling Green Independent School District Board of Education discussed the initiative during a meeting Monday. Superintendent Gary Fields told the Daily News following the meeting that the laptops have been purchased and set up for students to use when the program is rolled out next school year. 

Fields said increased computer access for the high school’s roughly 325 incoming freshmen will go a long way in improving their education. A total of 350 Chromebooks are available. 

The goal is to increase students’ interest in school, get them to work together on projects and prepare them for careers after high school. 

“We think it’s gonna really teach those skills to kids,” he said after the meeting. 

Students will receive them during freshmen orientation, and teachers are also training to incorporate them into their teaching. Fields said the initiative is paid for by reallocating roughly $98,000 in district funds. The goal is to phase it in with each incoming freshmen class, he said. 

The initiative is connected to the district’s three-year strategic plan. It outlines the district’s vision, mission and goals that include improving student achievement, developing employees, becoming more efficient in finances, improving communication with the community and getting innovative technology into classrooms. 

As the district looks ahead to new goals, it’s also dealing with a new challenge. The district will face an additional $31,909 in insurance costs. 

Tommy Adams, president of Charles M. Moore insurance, said that’s because of a change in the way a 2008 insurance law is being interpreted. 

Adams, who informed the board of the change during the meeting, shared an advisory opinion from Brian Maynard, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Insurance. 

Maynard writes to provide clarity on the law, which “does not authorize the sharing of any portion of an agent’s commission with a ‘client.’ “

“This means that agents may not rebate to the ‘client’ any portion of the agent’s commission,” the letter reads. “Likewise, an agent may not provide any other unlawful incentive to place insurance, which would include quoting reduced ‘net of commission’ premiums.” 

Fields told the Daily News after the meeting that the change was frustrating, especially when the district is trying to get the most for its money. 

In other board business, the board approved a request to put out bids for temporary school custodians. The goal is to find quality employees the district can keep on as permanent employees. Discipline guidelines will also be updated to comply with the state’s definition of bullying, among other changes. 

— Follow Daily News WKU, county schools and general assignment reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @aaron_muddbgdn or visit bgdailynews.com.