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Board members press administrators about PowerSchool renewals and nonworking attendance module
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Summary
Education and operations committee members questioned why PowerSchool renewals include multiple add‑ons, and staff said some add‑ons are administrative tools; staff and Mr. Oliver said coding work may let the district use an attendance bundle at no extra cost this year or the district will seek a credit if it cannot be made to work.
Committee members pressed staff on PowerSchool annual renewals, a packet item presented July 8 listing applicant tracking, enrollment registration, mobile connector, predictive enrollment, SIS and records at a total cost of $188,144.57.
Board members asked whether the packet covers all PowerSchool products, why the district pays for multiple add‑ons and whether an upgrade to the full PowerSchool suite would be simpler than maintaining many plugins. Staff explained the district uses eSchoolPlus — a student information system that now sits under the PowerSchool corporate umbrella — and that many connecting components (mobile connector, registration, attendance intervention, document sign) are sold as separate products.
Mr. Oliver, giving technical context, said the district purchased an attendance product last year that did not integrate properly with eSchoolPlus. He told the committee the vendor is working to resolve coding issues; if the integration is fixed, the district can use last year’s payment for this year with no additional charge. "If it does not work, we will still be seeking a credit from PowerSchool," he said. Committee members asked for follow‑up and for staff to seek credits or implement fixes prior to paying additional renewal fees.
Administrators described switching student information systems as a multi‑year project: one speaker said such a change can be a two‑year process and staff cautioned districts that migrate sometimes struggle to restore full functionality. Board members proposed surveying teachers to identify interoperability or workflow issues across schools before making larger platform decisions.
Next steps: staff said they will continue working with the PowerSchool representative on coding fixes and reported they will seek a credit if the attendance module integration cannot be made to work; the committee recommended the renewals to the full board for final action.
