Latest news with #CarmelClaySchools
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
This TikTok trend involving school-issued laptops could cost parents some cash
Are kids destroying laptops just for fun? Unfortunately, yes, and it could cost parents. A new viral TikTok trend began earlier this week when a user shared a video in which they use paper clips or mechanical pencils and stick the lead into the USB port of a Chromebook, which causes the computer to smoke. Students who have participated in the trend have quickly learned that not only does the computer smoke, in some cases it has caught fire, causing school evacuations around the country. The trend involves frying school-issued laptops. So students are not always destroying their personal computers; they are destroying school property. Intentionally damaging a school-issued device, however, is against most school policies and will result in a fine to replace the device. Washington Township Metropolitan School District sent out an email to parents warning them of the dangers of this viral trend. The message urged parents to speak with their children about both the safety and financial implications of participating in this trend. Parents in that district were warned that if their students take part in this challenge, there'll be a $380 replacment charge. Carmel Clay Schools sent a similar message to its families, also mentioning the risks and seriousness of tampering with devices. The message said if students do this, "there will be consequences in accordance with school policy." Parents, be sure to talk to your student about not setting things on fire — especially school-issued laptops — to keep everyone at school safe and to avoid an unnecessary fine. Katie Wiseman covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Contact her at klwiseman@ Follow her on Bluesky @katiewiseman. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Viral TikTok trend results in fried Chromebooks and school evacuations
Indianapolis Star
08-05-2025
- Indianapolis Star
This TikTok trend involving school-issued laptops could cost parents some cash
Are kids destroying laptops just for fun? Unfortunately, yes, and it could cost parents. A new viral TikTok trend began earlier this week when a user shared a video in which they use paper clips or mechanical pencils and stick the lead into the USB port of a Chromebook, which causes the computer to smoke. Students who have participated in the trend have quickly learned that not only does the computer smoke, in some cases it has caught fire, causing school evacuations around the country. The trend involves frying school-issued laptops. So students are not always destroying their personal computers; they are destroying school property. Intentionally damaging a school-issued device, however, is against most school policies and will result in a fine to replace the device. Washington Township Metropolitan School District sent out an email to parents warning them of the dangers of this viral trend. The message urged parents to speak with their children about both the safety and financial implications of participating in this trend. Parents in that district were warned that if their students take part in this challenge, there'll be a $380 replacment charge. Carmel Clay Schools sent a similar message to its families, also mentioning the risks and seriousness of tampering with devices. The message said if students do this, "there will be consequences in accordance with school policy." Parents, be sure to talk to your student about not setting things on fire — especially school-issued laptops — to keep everyone at school safe and to avoid an unnecessary fine.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Braun-Beckwith plan to abolish Carmel
Indiana Republicans have found new villains: the suburbs. The Braun administration is pushing property tax cuts that would strike at the heart of Indianapolis' suburbs, cutting into population-driving amenities and slashing funding for some of the state's most successful schools. Briggs: Jim Banks wants to defund the police Carmel Clay Schools would lose almost $77 million from 2026 to 2028 under Braun's property tax plan, WFYI reported, which the district calls "devastating." Hamilton Southeastern Schools would lose $82 million, more than any other district in Indiana. Those are two of the most eye-popping examples from Hamilton County, which is the state's fastest-growing county numerically and a big reason why the Indianapolis metro area is a bright spot in U.S. population growth. The state's hostility toward Indianapolis is nothing new. Nor is indifference to the state's dying small towns. But now, the Braun administration is turning the suburbs into poster children for wasteful spending, while taunting the Republican leaders who say his tax cuts would make their cities less desirable for current and future residents who care about things like schools and parks. "Governor Mike Braun isn't here for scare tactics or baseless claims. To the local leaders crying about 'doom and gloom' from property tax cuts—PROVE IT," Braun's social media specialist, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, posted Feb. 4. "Hoosiers deserve facts, not fear-mongering. The truth? Hardworking Indiana families keep more of their money, and government learns to live within its means. That's called fiscal responsibility, and Governor Braun is leading the charge." In other words, the Braun-Beckwith tax plan will bring the suburbs to heel — and force them to become like the rest of Indiana's stagnant, population-bleeding towns. Beckwith went on his rant after Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam, a Republican, addressed the Senate's Tax and Fiscal Policy committee. "How do we … maintain the services that people deserve and expect, and frankly have invested in for years?' Finkam asked Feb. 4, as IndyStar reported. Since then, Finkam, a popular mayor who won 56.6% of the vote against a strong Democratic opponent in 2023, has been derided on the right as 'Spendin Sue Finkham," as WIBC-FM host Rob Kendall put it. This debate has become about more than a property tax plan. It's about whether voters in any Indiana municipality get a say over their quality of life. Voters across Central Indiana have made it clear they are willing to pay premiums to live in places with excellent schools and amenities. As Michael Hicks wrote for IndyStar, population trends show people choose to live in high-tax, high-service destinations over places with low taxes and no services. The Braun-Beckwith administration wants to cut property taxes to the point that voters no longer have that choice. A speaker during the 2020 Republican National Convention famously argued that Joe Biden wanted to 'abolish the suburbs altogether by ending single-family home zoning.' Here in Indiana, Braun and Beckwith are out to abolish the suburbs because they don't believe in high-quality public services as a way of life. Republicans are sneering at Carmel High School's $55 million natatorium, which, for some, is exhibit A for why the state needs to cut funding to schools. 'Almost all of them are saying that they can't do without what they're having now. I would say, prove it,' Braun said of school districts during a Feb. 4 press briefing, per WFYI. 'Prove it that you didn't salt away a lot, that you didn't overburden the taxpayer by maybe making investments in buildings that weren't needed or other things that weren't essential.' Can anyone prove they need a $55 million high school swimming pool? Nope. But I'd love to see Braun show up to a community meeting and tell Carmel parents they don't deserve it. Carmel is not exactly a typical town when it comes to swimming. Carmel High School has won 38 straight girls swimming championships and 10 straight boys swimming championships. Carmel parents and voters wanted a top-of-the-line pool, and they've got one. Carmel's biggest problem isn't paying for a pool. It's building enough housing for all the people moving there to enjoy the schools and amenities. It might seem excessive, and you might want to make fun of it, but Carmel residents are getting what they're paying for. Do Braun and Beckwith want to keep well-educated, upwardly mobile people in Indiana? If so, they'd better prove it. Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or Follow him on X and Threads at @JamesEBriggs. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Braun property tax plan strikes Indianapolis suburbs | Opinion
