210 Chromebooks are missing. One North Carolina county is trying to find them.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — School officials in Elizabeth City are trying to reclaim 210 Chromebooks loaned to students during the pandemic but not returned.

The schools handed out roughly 4,360 Chromebooks in March 2020 for home study as the virus spread and schools closed, said Tammy Sawyer, spokesperson for Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools.

Except for graduating seniors, students kept their devices through the summer as school instruction continued, she said. The missing devices were loaned to students who have since left the school system and failed to return them, Sawyer said.

School systems across the country are struggling to account for electronic devices issued quickly and sometimes without enough safeguards in place to ensure their return, according to a July report in Education Week, a national publication covering school news.

Some school districts planned to involve law enforcement for assistance.

In Pasquotank County, parents signed an agreement to return the devices, Sawyer said. Officials have sent letters to the last known address without response, she said. They are looking into whether insurance will pay for replacements.

The HP Chromebooks cost about $300 each including software, said Sharon Warden, chair of the board of education.

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“It’s unfortunate that the devices went missing, but we’re holding out hope they can be located,” she said.

Chromebooks can be tracked whenever they are connected to the internet, said Blair Rhoades, communications director for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. They can also be disabled by an administrator.

“Therefore, the problem of missing Chromebooks is managed well with the tools available and the accountability system in place,” Rhoades said in an email response.

The schools, however, still have to replace them and they can be hard to retrieve even if their location is known, Warden said.

Another laptop issue that’s costing more money is additional time spent repairing the devices.

Before the pandemic, one technician spent about 15 hours a week making repairs. Now, two technicians work 40 hours each week fixing devices.

Jeff Hampton, 757-446-2090, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com