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Taos board approves Kev payments system to centralize school activity funds
Summary
The Taos board approved a districtwide license for the Kev school payments platform to consolidate activity and athletic funds. Implementation costs are $21,625 with a recurring annual fee of $12,725; finance staff said the system will improve audit trails and reduce cash-handling risk.
The Taos Municipal Schools Board voted April 8 to purchase and implement the Kev digital-payments platform to manage activity and athletic funds districtwide.
Finance Director Dr. Reineer Martins and Community Schools coordinator R. Gonzalez explained the district receives thousands in cash and donations annually, often tracked with spreadsheets and school-level processes. Dr. Martins said the proposed system creates a centralized audit trail, integrates with the district student information system (Synergy) and generates nightly reconciliations for finance staff.
"Without unified tracking funds remain scattered across department spreadsheets and cash boxes creating gaps in accountability," Dr. Martins said in his presentation, describing risks such as incomplete documentation and potential audit findings.
Costs and features: The board authorized a one-time implementation and first-year fee of $21,625; recurring annual software and service fees were listed as $12,725 in subsequent years. Staff said Kev supports online stores, pre-sale ticketing, kiosks for events, role-based access for administrators, and 24/7 vendor support.
Why the board approved it: Board members flagged community concerns about transparency and audit risk and heard demonstrations of role-specific reporting and automated reconciliation. Athletic and activity staff indicated Kev could replace some standalone platforms and reduce cash handling at events.
Vote: The motion to purchase the Kev system passed on a roll-call vote with all board members voting yes.
Next steps: Staff will begin implementation and integration with Synergy and district accounting systems, train staff, and phase activity accounts onto the new platform. The district intends to evaluate the system’s effect on cash handling and audit readiness after the first year.
