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District reports Infinite Campus rollout challenges and cites McKinney‑Vento transport as major cost driver
Summary
District staff told the board that the new Infinite Campus student information system has caused registration, scheduling and routing issues affecting roughly 400 students, and that transportation cost growth is driven mainly by federally protected McKinney‑Vento student transport obligations, with the state covering most actual costs.
District leaders told the Colonial School Board the new Infinite Campus student information system is live in stages and has created scheduling, routing and special‑education coding problems that have affected several hundred students during the initial rollout.
The board heard that the district opened parent portal access slowly to avoid uneven access for families. Officials said roughly 400 students were not yet scheduled on buses in an overnight run and that some special‑education coding and roster tags did not carry over cleanly at the system rollover. Staff said they are working with the vendor and the state to resolve those issues and will continue staggered data runs until routes and schedules stabilize.
Transportation cost drivers: Finance and operations staff explained that transportation cost increases during the year have been driven primarily by legal obligations to provide continuity of education for students identified as homeless under the McKinney‑Vento Act. Staff said the district must sometimes provide long-distance transport to keep displaced students enrolled in their original school for continuity, and that the state reimburses 90% of the actual expenses for those services.
Context and guidance: Maureen Leary, appearing in the meeting, clarified that students who are “doubled up” with relatives or friends can qualify as displaced under McKinney‑Vento and therefore may be entitled to transportation under the federal definition. Board members asked staff to provide clearer guidance to families about registration and transport steps and to keep the community posted on bus routing updates.
Ending: District staff asked for patience as back-office issues are resolved and said schedules are live in buildings; the administration will continue phased portal access and additional bus routing runs to reduce disruption.
