Boone County board approves Panorama student-services platform after privacy and cost debate

The Boone County Board of Education voted 3-2 to approve a contract for the Panorama student-services and data platform after a debate over data privacy, cost and whether the platform duplicates existing tools.

Supporters said Panorama aggregates disparate student data into a single view that can help staff identify students who need interventions. "That student survey serves as a required screener," said Dr. Haswalt, explaining that one portion of Panorama is the screener required by statute to guide interventions; the platform also houses intervention plans and monitoring tools.

Board members and staff described measurable district usage: the district created about 6,400 intervention plans in Panorama during the past year, and about 4,000 of those students met their goals by the end of the year. Proponents said the single dashboard can reveal correlations—attendance, assessment and survey results—that might otherwise be missed across separate systems such as Infinite Campus, DreamBox, FastBridge and STAR.

Opponents questioned cost and long-term reliance on an integrated platform. "I don't want us to become so computerized that we just go, computer, tell us what we should do," said a board member during the discussion, urging that staff maintain critical judgment rather than rely solely on aggregated metrics.

Questions about data retention and privacy were raised. A staff member identified as Kyle answered that "there are federal safeguards for any of these programs that we work through, regarding student data." Board members asked how long student records would remain accessible after a student leaves; administration said access is removed after a student graduates or moves.

Board members also said Panorama offers workflow features some existing tools do not, such as building and monitoring intervention plans within the same system. The district noted it has been rolling out Panorama over multiple years and that other vendors had been considered when the program was first selected; district staff said alternatives were either less robust or more expensive at that time.

The motion to approve the Panorama contract was made by Mrs. Wolf and seconded by Mrs. Byrd. During the roll call vote the motion passed 3 to 2.

Other business at the meeting included routine consent items and budget reporting; the treasurer reported an ending balance for May of $77,174,903 after $10,300,000 in receipts and $21,200,000 in expenditures for the month.

The board directed no further immediate changes to the rollout schedule; the contract approval continues the district's phased implementation of the Panorama platform.