Charlie Monday, a third-grade student at Pewaukee Lake Elementary School, scans items while working on a project at the school recently.

PEWAUKEE - With school districts across the state fighting to maintain services and staff, one aspect of their budget tends to get overlooked by the public - technology.

Technology has become an increasingly important aspect of learning for today’s children and a necessity for tomorrow’s work force.

With today’s children needing to be as technologically savvy as possible, school districts are working to make sure they can deliver what’s necessary.

"Our board has always been really supportive of technology," said Amy Pugh, instructional technology director for the Pewaukee School District. "When many districts have cuts, technology is usually one of the first things to go, but (the Pewaukee School Board) understands its importance."

Pewaukee has seen its technology budget increase each of the past several years, going from $278,875 for nonpersonnel costs in the 2003-04 school year to $427,440 this year.

With that money, the district has been able to grow technology over the past five years, with all classrooms now containing computers. For example, the middle school and high school have three full computer labs, plus computers for graphics and tech-ed classes.

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