Calvert County’s new superintendent of public schools attended his first meeting of the local Board of Education (BOE) Thursday, July 10.
Dr. Daniel Curry began his tenure as Calvert County Public Schools’ (CCPS) top administrator July 1.
During BOE meetings the superintendent shares the panel with the school board and serves as their secretary.
During Curry’s superintendent’s report he spoke about a private meeting he had recently with member of the Calvert County Commissioners, at which they discussed the possibility of “more collaboration” between the county government officials and the BOE. Curry reported visiting with other community officials, including Calvert County Health Officer Dr. Larry Polsky. The new superintendent plans to visit every school in the coming weeks.
Curry recommended approval of three appointments, including Donald Knode as supervisor of Food Services—he had been the coordinator—and Cecilia Lewis as a vice principal at Huntingtown High School.
The BOE voted unanimously to approve the appointments.
Additionally, Curry suggested CCPS officials consider drafting a policy for handing requests for information. While the school system is subject to the Freedom of Information Act, Curry noted, “you do have some local discretion.
Software vendor approved
The BOE voted unanimously to convert to a new software vendor, SunGuard. The decision comes after CCPS conducted a study of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. During a work session overview conducted by Supervisor of Information Technology Matt Poteet, Director of Procurement and Resource Management Kevin Michael, and Assistant Superintendent of Administration Anthony Navarro, the process that led to the recommendation of SunGuard eFinance software was explained.
The study included participation by personnel from the CCPS’ departments of Human Resources, Finance, Procurement, Information Technology and Administration. The group researched ERP software used by other school districts in the state. SunGuard eFinance is currently used in 11 Maryland jurisdictions. It has been deemed less expensive than the county’s current vendor over a five-year period.
The study group visited with public school officials from St. Mary’s and Talbot counties to discuss their experiences using the SunGuard eFinance software.
Michael stated that whether decides to retain its current vendor or convert to eFinance, a “major conversion process would be occurring” during the new fiscal year. While either conversion will cost $235,000, savings of approximately $365,948 could be realized over the next four fiscal years, assuming eFinance is fully implemented by next July.
The group that studied the ERP software concluded SunGuard eFinance “better meets our school system’s needs.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
