At the time those Macs were put in a field, they had intrinsic value as machines capable of doing everything they did twenty years ago. The owner is the Texas City ISD and the people of Texas City, and there is a much better use for older computers than the acceptance of a few dollars from a recycler. Why should they not transfer the depreciated equipment and software licenses to the families and children receiving other forms of public assistance in an effort to support the overall educational mission?
Those tax funds were allocated to enhance the educational opportunities offered to the children of Texas City. In spite of the depreciation their capabilities from an educational perspective are intact. I consider this cycle of investment and disposal a colossal waste. Even an Apple IIe has some practical value with a few decent programs, with the potential to help a kid something as simple as phonics or multiplication tables.
This waste is the reason I run a non-profit organization, rounding up the 1995 - 1997 wave of outgoing IT expenditure and channeling it into the lower income communities here in Houston.