March 5, 2009 at 6:30 PM - Regular Meeting March 5, 2009

Background:

The serious task of updating Grand Island Public Schools administrative software started in July of 2008 with a demonstration of our current vendors next generation software and the administrative recommendation to move forward with that product. However, after careful consideration, it was decided to survey the landscape of current software vendors that might be interested in doing business with Nebraska schools. Therefore, Grand Island Public Schools along with Kearney, Hastings, Lexington, Fremont, Columbus, Gering, Scotts Bluff and to some extent Lincoln Public Schools have conducted a comprehensive review of the human resource and financial accounting software from various software vendors. The review concentrated on the functionality, look and feel, installation, conversion, training, support, reporting, and total cost of ownership of the vendors software. The first activity conducted to reach the current administrative recommendation was issuing a request for information (RFI) published and issued in October of 2008. Then an initial group meeting was conducted in Omaha, one day prior to the NASB annual meeting, to selected four (4) vendors that interested the group the most to conduct on-site software demonstrations. The four (4) vendors selected included Lawson (Lawson), Tyler Technologies (MUNIS), Weidenhammer (alio), and Windsor Management Group (InfiniteVisions). The Lawson software demonstration was conducted at a Lincoln Public Schools site and the remaining three were conducted in Grand Island. All software demonstrations were conducted between early December 2008 and early February 2009. Grand Island Public Schools and select other districts conducted on-site visits with vendor recommended schools districts as follows; Lawson (none), MUNIS (McKinney, TX ISD and Irvin, TX ISD), alio (Newton, KS), InfiniteVisions (Waukee, IA).                           

Rationale

Grand Island Public School currently uses Weidenhammer Systems Corporation CIMS Finance to process human recourses and financial accounting activity on an IBM AS400 hardware platform. The hardware and software originally dates back to 1986 when the District used the forerunner to its current system. In effect the District has been using the same software and hardware technology for over twenty-two years. Over the last several years it become painfully clear that the limitations of the current software necessitated a newer more updated, modern, powerful, and interactive web based comprehensive human resources and financial management software and hardware platform. This was needed to move the district into a position to more fully utilize the human intellectual and capital recourses already invested. Major concerns with our old system are the outdated look and feel, functionality, technology platform, archaic database structure, timely access to data, and antiquated manual paper processes that continues to consume large amounts for both human and physical resources. With the gains achieved within the district from the same process on the student information system the administrative teams seeks to do the same on the human resource and financial accounting data and processes.