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Committee asks staff to report costs of upgrading Aspire SIS, sends details to HB508 advisory council
Summary
After debate about whether to keep or end the state‑provided Aspire student information system, the committee directed staff to report costs to upgrade Aspire to interface with USIMS and to forward that report to the HB508 advisory council and appropriations committee for use of $10 million one‑time funds.
The finance committee on June 25 directed staff to quantify the cost of upgrading the state‑operated Aspire student information system so it can interoperate with the statewide USIMS data environment, and to send that estimate to the HB508 advisory council for recommendations to the Legislature on use of $10 million in one‑time funds.
USBE IT director Jared Felt presented a rough order of magnitude (ROM): one‑time development to address backlog items prioritized by the Aspire users group was estimated at about $837,000; ongoing hosting and operations were estimated at roughly $251,000 per year; additional help‑desk and support staffing would cost about $240,000 for two additional full‑time employees. Felt presented two alternative per‑student cost figures: approximately $4.50 per student if current departmental funding continues to subsidize Aspire, or about $14 per student if Aspire must cover both existing and new costs without that subsidy. The department also identified specific functionality gaps such as master calendaring, automatic scheduling, improved attendance modules and other core SIS features that would require work to meet reporting and reliability needs.
Board members and LEA representatives debated three broad options: continue and invest in Aspire, transition LEAs to vendor systems with one‑time transition support, or adopt a mixed approach. Members emphasized that Aspire currently supports more than 100 LEAs (charters and small districts) but covers roughly 12% of state students. Several speakers said the $10 million one‑time appropriation in the legislative package is intended to help LEAs upgrade local SIS capacity; the advisory council created by HB508 will study system options and report recommendations. The motion approved by the committee directs staff to report costs and integration estimates to the HB508 advisory council and to the legislative public education appropriations committee; the motion passed unanimously.
The committee did not adopt a final policy decision to keep or retire Aspire. Instead it asked for a fiscal and technical report to inform the HB508 process and future board recommendations.
