From: Michael Pilling
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 13:50:02 -0400
The California Open Source Textbook Project
http://www.opensourcetext.org/ (COSTP) is a collaborative,
public/private undertaking. It has been created to address the high
cost, content range, and consistent shortages of K-12 textbooks in
California.

California currently spends more than $400M annually — and rising —
for K-12 textbooks. With K-12 enrollments projected to rise in the
coming years, revenue demands for textbooks and other curriculum
materials in California will increase proportionately.

COSTP will employ the advantages of open sourced content and
innovative licensing tools to significantly reduce California's K-12
textbook costs — eventually turning K-12 curriculum and textbook
construction from a cost into a revenue generator for the State of
California.

Three - amongst many — COSTP benefits will be 1) the complete
elimination of the current $400M+ line item for California's K-12
textbooks; 2) a significant increase in the range of content afforded
to California's K-12 textbooks; 3) a permanent end to California's
textbook shortages; and 4) creation of fully portable content holdings
database that scales with classroom technologies as they are
introduced.

It is important to note that COSTP's mandate does not replace printed
textbooks; it simply makes them less expensive to produce; and, in
doing so creates many additional benefits, economies, and efficiencies
that will fully leverage California's activities in the K-12 textbook
publishing domain.

The cost of K-12 textbooks has risen steadily over the years. Whatever
the reasons for increasing costs, it seems likely that today's high
K-12 textbook prices are not inevitable. The past history of textbook
prices, and the existence, even today, of textbooks that occasionally
cost significantly less than average, indicates that textbooks could
be produced and sold for 33-50+% less than currently charged by
textbook publishing companies. COSTP's goal is to make the latter
pricing scenario a reality, while providing multiple additional
advantages for California's K-12 schools, teachers, students, and
taxpayers.

Open sourced, distributed content can be made available gratis, and/or
through the use of innovative copyright tools provided by
organizations like Creative Commons, its partners, and other
organizations.

Thus, COSTP will provide a new model for textbook creation in the
State of California by 1) leveraging free, already-existing, and
widely available K-12 educational content in the public domain; 2)
better leveraging the substantial curriculum-based intellectual
capital of California's best K-12 teachers; and 3) using innovative
copyright tools to secure new and dormant K-12 textbook content that
would not otherwise be made available.

COSTP is projected to augment current K-12 textbook supply chain, be
self-supporting with 18 months of starting up, and save the State of
California upwards of $200M+ per year for K-12 textbook allocation
within five years.

In phase two of the COSTP plan (following year five), California will
be able to offer (by license, at nominal cost) K-12 textbook and
curriculum materials to other educational organizations and
international agencies. This will create substantial cost savings for
those entities, and will result in the complete elimination of all
funds heretofore budgeted for California's K-12 textbook purchases -
currently $400M+ per year. Additionally, California will realize a
surplus (profit) from it's K-12 content licensing activities as this
second stage of COSTP is deployed.

From: Michael Pilling
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:29:05 0400
I looked up the project which sadly seems to be in a little bit of a
stall mode wonder why?

PS. Love this email to wiki feature.