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Board considers ParentSquare package to consolidate district communications and redesign website
Summary
Chickasha board reviewed a proposal to adopt ParentSquare for districtwide messaging, mass notifications and a staged website redesign; staff said the first-year costs largely break even and the vendor will permit continued use of Remind during transition.
The board discussed a proposal to adopt ParentSquare as the district’s primary communication platform and to begin a phased redesign of the district website. Staff said ParentSquare can consolidate existing services — including messaging, mass phone notifications and website services — and that the company has recently acquired Remind, making a staged transition feasible. District staff said ParentSquare offered to waive many of the usual upfront setup costs; the quoted package included a website design/data-migration fee. Staff described a staggered implementation (potentially between fall break and winter break) to avoid adding a new platform during busy back-to-school workflows. They said ParentSquare will allow the district to continue Remind temporarily while parents and staff transition and will provide promotional materials and on-boarding assistance. The district’s information-technology and communications leads will serve as the primary contacts; staff said David (IT) and Cheyenne (communications/enrollment) will work with the vendor. The board discussed branding, accessibility and the ability to migrate PowerSchool/SchoolMessenger functions into a unified system. A motion to approve the ParentSquare quote for district communications and website services was moved and seconded during the meeting. Board members asked about cost offsets and timeline; staff said year-one savings are limited but consolidation should reduce costs in later years. Site-by-site training, a content-review schedule and a six-month soft-transition for the website were described. The board signaled support for the plan, subject to the final contract and implementation schedule.
