Here's how the new world of communal purchasing works: You place an order for a Palm V, say, and give Accompany 72 hours to assemble a group of buyers. Accompany will bundle you with other Palm V seekers—25, 100, 500 at a time—and negotiate a purchase in bulk, so you can share in the kinds of stepped discounts usually reserved for larger corporate buyers.

There are any number of ways teachers could spend the money. They could each buy supplies for their own rooms, or they could pool their money to make a communal purchase, like a computer.

The Liberal leader added that the government would also intensify the research regarding environmental protection, as well as support the communal purchase and use of agricultural equipment.