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Sarasota officials detail ERP rollout problems, forecast and staffing moves as district eyes fall budgets
Summary
District CFO and COO described a difficult Skyward ERP conversion, ongoing payroll/timesheet issues, and a preliminary fund‑balance forecast of about 12.7% for FY24‑25, while projecting a 9% target for 2025‑26 and continuing budget pressures from scholarships, FRS and rising costs.
Sarasota County Schools’ finance leaders told the board on July 22 that the district’s transition to a Skyward enterprise resource planning (ERP) system has produced “significant challenges” but also tangible gains in account structure, online approvals and consolidated purchasing. They also described ongoing budget pressures and staffing adjustments as they build the 2025‑26 budget.
COO Bonnie Pinner, who led the presentation, said the district launched Skyward on Jan. 1, 2025, and cited two areas of ongoing work: migrating historical data into new fields and finishing user training and testing. “The primary issue that we've dealt with relates to just a lack of project plan, testing and training of all users in the implementation plan that was provided by our ERP company,” Pinner said, adding that the district has taken a pause and retooled its approach with the vendor.
Operational effects and fixes
Pinner said the new platform has already enabled bank reconciliations, integration of…
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