We’re getting closer.
That was the recent message from DeKalb County School District staff about the implementation of a software system, which is years behind schedule and nearly twice the original budget.
The new software is supposed to handle budgeting, vendor contracts, employee payroll, student information and more for the state’s third-largest school district. But seven years after the school board first approved the purchase, fewer than half of the software’s functions are live in DeKalb.
Getting the new system fully functioning within the next year is a goal for Superintendent Devon Horton, who inherited the project when he was hired a few months ago.
The school board approved the original contract with Tyler Technologies for the Munis computer system in July 2016. At the time, the goal was for the system to be fully implemented by February 2019. The price was $12.76 million.
But the project has been delayed several times, and the cost of the implementation now tops $23 million. District officials have blamed the delays on leadership changes, staffing problems and data conversion issues.
The plan is to complete it by June 2024. State auditors have pointed out that the ongoing transition, during which the district is paying for and maintaining information in other systems as well, leaves the district vulnerable to accounting errors and financial waste.
Chief Information Officer Monika Davis outlined 33 different “modules,” or functions of the new system, in a presentation to the school board in August. Thirteen of those functions, including budgeting, purchasing and work orders, are already operational in DeKalb. Seven more, including payroll and attendance, are in progress. Those must be functional before the integration can be considered complete. Other functions are being evaluated to see if the district still needs them, Davis said.
Davis also shared that payroll and human resources management functions will begin rolling out in October, and should be fully functional for all employees by April. For time and attendance, the go-live date is June 2024.
“This feels like a concrete plan that I can look at and feel like we might actually get there this time,” said board member Whitney McGinniss.
Board member Anna Hill, who often questions staff about the project, joked that her term on the board will end in December 2024.
“So no pressure,” she said.
