Pennsylvania school district to buy iPads with $291K donation from Apple CEO Tim Cook

The board of Pennsylvania's Steel Valley School District has officially voted to use a $291,791 donation from Apple chief Tim Cook —  made by Cook in honor of former Apple board member Bill Campbell —  to purchase iPads for each of the district's students and train teachers on how to take advantage of the technology.

Administrators will plan to roll out iPads for the 2015-2016 school year, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Cook's contribution was announced in September, though it was not officially accepted until this week.

"We're excited to be working with Apple," Steel Valley superintendent Ed Wehrer told the publication.

Before the rollout begins, administrators will devise a strategy for how best to use the tablets to augment the classroom. They have already traveled to at least one school where iPads are currently in use to gather information.

Steel Valley is a relatively small district, serving approximately 2,000 students, but it has long benefited from Campbell's generosity. The former Apple executive and Intuit CEO — who grew up in the area —  has contributed nearly $9 million to the district in the last 14 years.

Apple has sold millions of iPads to schools around the world and boasts a near-monopoly on tablet usage in education, though not every rollout has gone smoothly. A $1 billion program to put tablets in Los Angeles public schools has failed spectacularly, with the FBI called in to investigate the program's bidding process.