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Rockdale Board OKs three-year ParentSquare purchase to replace Remind
Summary
The Rockdale County Board of Education approved a $163,835, three-year contract to adopt ParentSquare — which acquired the Remind messaging platform — for district communications, funded from Title I/Title IV sources, by a 7-0 vote.
The Rockdale County Board of Education voted 7-0 to approve a three-year purchase of the ParentSquare communication platform totaling $163,835, Superintendent Shirley Chesser and Chief of Strategy and Innovation Mrs. Ball told the board.
The superintendent recommended buying ParentSquare after the company acquired Remind, the district's current texting tool. Mrs. Ball told the board, “Remind will be going away, and the platform will be ParentSquare,” and said the district expects ParentSquare to provide calls, emails, posts, automated attendance notices and multi-language translation integrated with the district student information system, Infinite Campus.
Board member Justin Kenny made the motion to approve the contract and Heather Duncan seconded it; the board approved the purchase by a 7-0 vote. The contract cost is listed as $49,910 in year one, $54,250 in year two and $59,675 in year three, and Mrs. Ball said the purchase will be funded from Title IV (the presentation noted Title 4 rather than the general fund). The superintendent said the contract has been reviewed and approved by general counsel.
Board members asked how the change will affect families. Mrs. Ball confirmed that Remind will not automatically update to ParentSquare on users’ phones and parents will need to transition to the ParentSquare app; she also said the vendor will allow the district to keep Remind active for a transition period on a schedule the district sets.
The board packet and presentation noted ParentSquare supports about 20 million students nationwide and automated language translation for families. Mrs. Ball said the platform will allow families with multiple students to customize delivery times and channels for routine announcements while ensuring urgent alerts are delivered immediately.
The board approved the motion without further discussion. The district did not provide a public copy of the contract text during the meeting; the presentation listed the three-year total and per-year costs and identified Title IV as the funding source.
