Board backs five-year renewal with PowerSchool for student records and evaluation tools

NEW HAVEN — The finance committee recommended a consolidated five-year renewal with PowerSchool, the district’s existing student information and teacher-evaluation platform, after district staff said the system is the backbone for state reporting and classroom records. Dr. Paul White, the district representative, told the committee: “PowerSchool is our student information system. It's the backbone of all that we keep on student records. It's the transcripts. It's the attendance, behavior logs… It connects with all the different reports that we have to put out over the course of the year.” The administration told the committee the renewal consolidates multiple existing contracts into one agreement, which staff said generated volume discounts. Budget documents provided to the committee listed a five-year total near $1.7 million and included line items for teacher evaluation, registration, e-forms, SIS hosting and maintenance. Why it matters: School officials said PowerSchool ties directly into state reporting and day-to-day school operations; consolidating contracts simplifies administration and generated savings by negotiating as a single package across departments. Committee action: The committee voted to move the renewal favorably to the full board. Committee members who spoke in favor described PowerSchool as widely used and effective for teachers and administrators. Follow-up: Staff said they would provide details about the source and calculations of the stated savings and confirm annual and module-level costs during contract finalization.