Twin Cities School District Consolidates Administrative Functions
Shakopee
Public Schools (SPS) in suburban Minneapolis has
consolidated all of its administrative functions into a single
system.
The 7,600-student school district now has a single
administrative suite, provided by Infinite
Campus, which accommodates its
student information system as well as its finance, human resources,
payroll and
business functions. A one-time mix of independently operated functions,
some of
them managed by third parties, now provides reports and functions from a
single
source, streamlining procedures and increasing efficiency.
Using the Infinite Campus student information system along with Campus Finance,
HR and
Payroll should allow district officials to share more data across the
district.
"We used to spend a lot of time massaging data to
make it
useful," said SPS Finance Director Mike Burlager. "We no longer have to
do
that."
Likewise, the district no longer needs to send
e-mails
notifying staff of administrative updates. Instead, changes can be made
immediately
available throughout the system.
"Now,” Burlager said, "if human resources adds a
teacher to
the system, the information is instantly available to everybody. Campus
integration keeps information accurate and timely."
At the same time, many more staff members can have
access to
information and create and share reports that package information in
more
meaningful ways for them.
"This means our business office no longer receives
calls to
pull specific reports," Burlager said, "a big benefit of using one
system."
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.