No longer troubled, Manatee schools’ computer system will still cost taxpayers millions

The school district’s infamous ERP software system has largely improved its performance after an ill-fated launch in July 2018. That system, which suffered from delays and budget spikes, will cost millions more to maintain in the coming years.

Then-Superintendent Diana Greene brought the new enterprise resource planning software, or ERP system, to school board members in 2016, presenting a budget of less than $10 million.

The ERP system was meant to replace outdated software and improve operations throughout the district, including payroll, human resources and purchasing. Instead, the software launched with a host of errors on July 1, 2018 — the same day Greene started her new job as the superintendent in Duval County.

To make matters worse, the price tag on Manatee’s new ERP system was at least $24.1 million as of December 2018, more than double the original budget.

Now, after more than two and a half years of putting out digital fires and working to mend the system, Manatee is starting to get value out of its ERP project, according to district leaders.

“It has been an undertaking to get us where we are today, but I do believe what you’ll find is there are definitely improvements,” Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said at a recent meeting. “We’ve also come a long way with training and our staff’s knowledge level.”

The latest improvements, concerns and ERP project costs are a highlight of the school board’s meeting on Friday, scheduled for 9 a.m. at the School Support Center, 215 Manatee Ave. W. in Bradenton.

Board members will hear from Scott Hansen, the chief technology officer; and Tim Bargeron, the associate superintendent of finance.

According to their upcoming presentation, the total cost of Manatee’s ERP system was more than $29 million as of Nov. 3. That number includes initial project costs to implement and launch the software, along with ongoing maintenance costs, licensing fees and improvements.

And even with the program stabilized, annual costs were expected to top $1.9 million per year. The fees include $892,500 for maintenance, $386,425 for licensing and support, $105,339 for storage and $537,000 for the district’s ERP and information technology staff.

Hansen presented the same information to Manatee’s independent Audit Committee last month, prompting questions about the hefty bill.

“I don’t know what to think about $1.9 million,” Vice-Chair Susan Agruso said at the time. “Is that good? Is it higher and we expect it will decrease? I don’t know how that compares to other similar systems in school districts.”

“If the direction of our school board is to do a cost analysis of similar size districts, we’re certainly capable of doing that,” Hansen responded.

The presentation also sparked relief among several committee members, including Agruso.

When a consultant updated the school board two years ago, seven out of 28 system features were marked as “impaired.” Only one feature — officially known as absence management — was considered impaired as of the latest update.

“A good example: an employee balance is reduced before they’ve actually taken the absence,” Hansen said at the committee meeting. “If Scott Hansen puts in an absence request to Mr. Wagner for the June time frame, my balance will subtract even though I haven’t actually taken that day yet.”

“I may choose to cancel at some point,” he continued. “Maybe I need to change it. For whatever reason, I don’t need to take that day. There’s a challenge with the employee being able to revise or cancel that absence and we have to turn that in to our absence management department so they can make the change.”

Two other features were canceled in 2019, leading to about $40,000 in savings, while a single feature was marked as “needs improvement.”

That feature, known as “time and labor,” has led some employees to see a higher salary on their pay stubs. Though the wrong number was displayed, they were receiving the correct amount each check, Hansen confirmed.

Friday’s presentation also includes an update on the number of service tickets completed by the district and its support provider. Employees submit a request for help, officially known as a “ticket,” when they face issues with the ERP system.

While 139 tickets were still open, nearly 930 were addressed between the system’s launch and the latest update.

Employees also have access to dozens of training videos that touch on different jobs and tasks. While many problems resulted from technical issues, others followed a lack of training for employees, who were ill-equipped to use the ERP system after its launch.

“This is a significant improvement over what we’ve heard in the past,” Agruso said at last month’s committee meeting.

The school board will have a chance to review and discuss the latest update on Friday. Board meetings are broadcast live on Spectrum Channel 646 and Frontier Channel 39, along with the Manatee Schools Television website, mstv.us.

This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM.