The state, which is in the running to land Apple's next big corporate campus, will spend $6 million on devices meant to improve reading skills for North Carolina children.
North Carolina will buy iPads for use in the state's elementary schools starting with the upcoming school year. According to television station WRAL, the plan was announced by the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson, along with Gov. Roy Cooper and other state officeholders.
The iPads, which will be presented to every public school teacher between kindergarten and third grade, will cost about $6 million, which will come from an unused portion of the Department of Public Instruction's existing budget. The program, while mostly consisting of iPads, will in some instances use Google Chromebooks and other non-Apple devices.
The devices will include an app which will track student reading levels, along with a state campaign to encourage awareness by parents of which level their child has reached.
It's unclear whether the purchase was arranged directly with Apple or if the iPads will be bought through a third party.
Apple in the Triangle
Earlier this year, numerous media reports had North Carolina's Research Triangle area in the lead to land Apple's next corporate campus.
There were even rumors that an official announcement would take place in June, but as of yet there's been no deal and very little noise about the prospects of one. Gov. Cooper said in an interview with WRAL last month that he remained "hopeful" about North Carolina's chances to land a campus from either Apple or Amazon.
Meanwhile, a Triangle Business Journal report this week, found that North Carolina Retirement Systems, the state pension fund, held nearly 3.1 million shares of Apple as of the end of June. With Apple trading at around $207 a share on Tuesday, that stake is now valued at more than $641 million.
Outside the Triangle, Apple has also had a large data center in Maiden for many years.