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District hears fiscal update: new payroll system, procurement savings and items headed to town meeting
Summary
Officials told the committee the town will move to a cloud-based payroll system called Harpers starting July 1 and shared a procurement business-review showing savings; members were reminded that the May 11 town meeting will consider opioid-grant-funded vape detectors and a capital firewall project.
At the May 5 meeting, the school committee received a fiscal update that included an implementation timeline for a new town payroll system and a procurement business-review showing recent savings.
The finance update said the town contracted for a cloud-based payroll/HR module (identified in the presentation as Harpers, module 'Employee Forward') and expects the system to go live July 1. School and town staff — including payroll clerks — are coordinating implementation. Committee members asked whether the system will integrate absent-management and substitute-assignment features; presenters said some HR components exist in the platform but substitute/absent management may remain a separate product.
Committee members also reviewed a procurement report reflecting savings since the district’s more active use of a state-approved procurement group beginning in 2023; the report will be produced annually going forward. The superintendent flagged two items on the May 11 town meeting warrant: a request to use opioid grant funds to purchase vape-detection devices and a joint town/school capital article for a new firewall system; members were urged to attend the meeting.
No votes were taken on procurement or the payroll contract at the school committee meeting; the budget and warrant items will be decided at the town meeting on May 11 and at the scheduled Monday budget vote.
