What do Stillwater prison and a K-12 Minnesota school have in common? One has inmates doing hard time, and the other is dealing with hard times from budget cuts.
But there is other common ground.
The Minnesota Computers for Schools (MCFS) program is a non-profit organization that trains Stillwater Correctional Facility inmates to refurbish computers donated by local businesses. The computers are then shipped to K-12 schools across the state for a nominal fee.
"I think a lot of these offenders want to work on computers because they know that's what is happening in the world," said Tamara Gillard, executive director of MCFS.
In 1997, Gov. Arne Carlson had heard about a computers-for-schools program at a governor's conference in California. "The corrections there had been a wonderful partner, and it was a win-win," Gillard said. "It kept the inmates busy, learning valuable skills, and it's a good part of restorative justice."
One of the 30 inmates working recently in the Minnesota program on the third floor of a prison industries building was Carlos Smith, who said he was unfamiliar with computers when he started.
"It's kind of like living in the Stone Age," he said of computer-free cellblocks. Smith, who has a daughter, said he takes pride in rebuilding computers to benefit schoolchildren.
"It gave me an opportunity to do something that's giving back," said Smith, who is serving a lengthy prison sentence. "To be in prison, it's a chance to make something out of a negative situation."