RICHMOND – Playing catchup with other districts, the Richmond Board of Education jumped into distance learning with both feet by agreeing to buy 1,000 Chromebooks at a cost of $305,000 May 14. “We are a few years behind a number of schools,” incoming Superintendent Greg Darling, speaking remotely, said. “The way the child thinks now – and adults are getting the transformation – we can catch up without a problem.” Missing school affected Richmond students more than students elsewhere, he said. “Some of the schools that had one-to-one technology in our area, in our conference, they didn’t miss that much of a beat,” Darling said. “They had their computers, they took them home, and they were able to have classes and do a number of things.” The Chromebook came out as the most cost-effective system for the district, he said. Just the same, Darling made clear the spending is not done lightly. “When we have drastic things happen, we have to do drastic measures and we have to think a…