Texas District Shifts to ERP To Control Administrative Costs

  • By Evan Tassistro
  • 08/11/10

In an effort to decrease administrative costs, North East Independent School District (NEISD) of San Antonio, TX is making a move to enterprise resource planning (ERP). The already cost-conscious district cited a need to realize savings through improved operational efficiency while upgrading IT system functionality at the same time.

For the initiative, the district has adopted several modules from ERP provider Lawson, which offers a line of modular software applications designed to automate and streamline administrative tasks for public and private sector organizations. Some of the modules specific to the education sector that were selected by NEISD include Lawson Enterprise Financial Management, Supply Chain Management, and Teacher Contract Administration, among others. Lawson software has also been chosen previously by Greenville County Schools in South Carolina, Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida, and Cherry Creek School District #5 in Colorado.

NEISD is placing a high priority on lowering overhead costs; according to their 2009 fact sheet, the district maintains a 5.25 percent administrative cost overhead compared to a 11.05 percent state standard for districts with more than 10,000 students.

"Our current IT systems and processes lacked the features and functionality we needed to support the business operations of a school district our size," said Superintendent of Schools Richard A. Middleton. "We chose Lawson because of its commitment and proven track record in the public sector, particularly in Texas. Lawson's enterprise-wide system will help us save costs, be more efficient, and better serve our community."

NEISD serves more than 65,000 students in 42 elementary, 13 middle, and eight high schools in Bexar County and employs more than 4,400 teachers and 9,000 total employees.

Further information about Lawson's product line can be found here.

About the Author

Evan Tassistro is a freelance writer based in San Diego, CA.

Featured

  • semi-transparent AI brain with circuit elements under a microscope

    AI 'Microscope' Reveals the Hidden Mechanics of LLM Thought

    Anthropic has introduced new research tools designed to provide a rare glimpse into the hidden reasoning processes of advanced language models — like a "microscope" for AI.

  • digital illustration of Estonia with glowing neural network-like connections spreading across the map

    Estonia to Roll Out ChatGPT Edu for all Secondary Schools

    In a nationwide artificial intelligence program dubbed "AI Leap 2025," the country of Estonia plans to provide free access to leading AI applications for all secondary school students and teachers. The initiative will launch with a rollout of ChatGPT Edu to 20,000 high school students in grades 10-11 and their 3,000 teachers, beginning Sept. 1.

  • DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education Announces Accessibility Enhancements for DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education has updated DreamBox Math, an online math program for K–8 students to supplement core instruction, to improve accessibility for K–5 students, according to a news release. DreamBox Math provides personalized instruction by adapting to individual learners’ responses and providing an engaging, dynamic learning environment.

  • teenager interacts with a chatbot on a computer screen

    Character.AI Rolls Out New Parental Insights Feature Amid Safety Concerns

    Chatbot platform Character.AI has introduced a new Parental Insights feature aimed at giving parents a window into their children's activity on the platform. The feature allows users under 18 to share a weekly report of their chatbot interactions directly with a parent's e-mail address.