The incident began two weeks ago when Bart Rathbone, operator and manager of the Electric Palace, offered to donate new computers to replace the school’s aging collection. Johnson was initially wary of the offer, but he was eventually persuaded it could be a great opportunity for the school.

“Like many schools today, our budget needed some help,” he said. “Rathbone’s donation made perfect sense.”

Problems surfaced when students tried using the computers to access Internet sites for research. Mandy Straussberg attempted to look up information on wireless technology for a science report.

“All it did was take me to a Web site advertising Electric Palace cell phones,” Straussberg said. “When I tried to close the window, it asked me six times if I was really sure I wanted to leave.”

Straussberg tried to continue her research but was frustrated by constant ads and sales pitches. In the end she finished her report using books and magazines in the school library.

Math students faced a similar problem. While double-checking algebra answers, they encountered pop-up windows that told them how much they would have saved on their calculators had they shopped at the Electric Palace.

The final straw came when Johnson discovered that the computers were not new but simply used computers repackaged in new cases.

“I believe in advertising and promoting your business,” he said. “But not when it’s dishonest and hinders student learning.”