In order to address specific audit finding recommendations and remediate risk with the district’s current financial system TrueCourse, staff recommends using the NASPO contract through DGS leveraged purchase agreements, offered by the State of California pursuant to Public Contract Code Section 10299, to purchase an ERP System, specifically, Infor Cloudsuite Financials and Supply Management Software Suite, Governance, Risk and Compliance, and Sherpa Budgeting. The board has authorized staff to utilize alternative procurement mechanisms when they are in the best interest of the district, pursuant to Resolution No. 4437, dated May 14, 2018.
DGS offers a wide variety of commodities, products, and services at prices which have been assessed to be fair, reasonable, and competitive. State departments and California local governments can purchase items using DGS contracts. All DGS contracts have been vetted by the State of California. DGS is an authorized alternative to traditional bidding that can provide various benefits to the district, including better project scheduling, streamlined product selection, negotiation, and avoidance of administrative costs.
Since 2006, the district has invested a considerable amount of money (~$5M) to implement and enhance the human resource system, formerly known as Lawson. The district is utilizing Infor’s Global Human Resources (GHR) and Talent Management (TM), which are being implemented as part of the Infor ERP suite. These new financial modules will integrate with the current Infor system, and will be made to integrate with PeopleSoft Financial (FIN), pending defined specifications from the San Diego County Office of Education.
The software, as a subscription cost, will include Infor’s Cloudsuite Financials ($263,391), Governance, Risk and Compliance ($72,712), and Sherpa Budgeting Software ($58,000), for a total of $394,103, for year one. The five-year cost projection for software is summarized in the fiscal impact below.
Pursuant to Board Agenda Item M-1 from January 28, 2019, $1.8 million (Fund 35, Resource Code: 7777) was approved for the implementation efforts needed to integrate the various ERP components. A future board item will be brought forward after an appropriate procurement process occurs for these implementation services, which will include interface requirements and cost considerations for interfacing to the PeopleSoft (FIN) system.
This Board Agenda Item supports LCAP Goal 4, coherent and transparent systems, because this project will provide the necessary financial software to support the district’s financial system requirements.
For questions regarding this board item, please contact David D. Delacalzada at 619-585-7961 or david.delacalzada@sweetwaterschools.org.