| BPS defends $540,000 software purchase Posted: 11 Jun 2010 07:29 AM PDT
Computer software exceeding half a million dollars was not an extraordinary expense for a state-of-the-art program that will serve Bellevue Public Schools' neediest kids, administrators say.
The expenditure of $540,000, approved by the Board of Education without discussion last month, is being funded with a federal grant earmarked for the district's neediest schools and includes the entire rights to the program.
Assistant Superintendent Jeff Rippe said BPS bought the perpetual rights, versus the standard procedure of renting them, but the district did so because it might not be able to budget for annual fees going forward. The district was able to bankroll the huge purchase through a one-time cash infusion of $613,000, he said.
But the catch is that the pricy program can only be used in four schools in the district, even though with the complete rights, BPS now owns software that could potentially serve students from Pre-K to eighth to 10th grade (depending on when a student takes Algebra II), according to The Princeton Review, the software vendor.
Known as Destination Math, the system is versatile, said Scott Fitzpatrick, president of The Princeton Review.
"You can use it in whole-group instruction on a whiteboard, you can use other applications in a computer lab and also in summer school," he said.
Fitzpatrick also said it is not unusual for districts to purchase perpetual rights, although his company is receiving far more orders with Obama's stimulus program.
"They all want to do that. They're getting this one-time money," he said.
By law, federal stimulus money can only be spent on schools needing improvement, in this case Title 1 schools. In Bellevue, only four Bellevue schools qualify – Birchcrest, Betz, Belleaire and Central elementary schools.
Title 1, as defined by the federal government, provides money to schools "to ensure that children in poverty have an opportunity to obtain a high quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement and state academic assessments."
Marilyn Peterson, federal programs administrator for the state Department of Education, said if, down the line, other schools in the district are flagged Title 1, those schools could use resources purchased with stimulus funds. But schools that are not Title 1 schools may not, she said.
Rippe said the software's lifespan could extend 10 or 15 years, and the price includes upgrades and training provided by The Princeton Review.
Specifically, BPS received a grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more commonly known as "stimulus" money that has been pouring in across the country in an attempt to boost the economy and improve the nation's schools.
By its nature, the windfall allows school districts to invest in big-ticket items that budgetary constraints would normally prohibit.
"That's really what they encourage you to do," said BPS Director of Fiscal Affairs Kyle Fairbairn. "This money goes away next year."
Because the grant money is not renewable, it cannot be used on recurring expenses like annual fees or salaries, for instance.
Peterson said many schools are spending stimulus money on big-ticket items, taking the opportunity to buy valuable resources they might never be able to afford otherwise.
Originally, Fairbairn said the annual fee would have been about $30,000, although Fitzpatrick said the annual fee on the Destination Math package BPS purchased would have been more like $135,000 to $180,000 based on several factors including the number of students, the number of grade levels served and the number of physical school buildings where the software is installed.
"That ($30,000) estimate was based on an upfront fee for installation and then an annual fee, but we had no solid numbers," Fairbairn said of the discrepancy. "We did not price out the software on an annual basis. I don't know what it would cost."
Meanwhile, Destination Math will be installed this summer and teachers are scheduled for training in August.
"Hopefully, it will be worth the investment," said Board of Education member Frank Kumor.
While the hefty price tag may seem excessive, Kumor said it's all relative.
"Initially, that may seem expensive. But this is something that is going to be used for many years," he said.
Board member Denise Seaman said, "I don't have a problem with it; it's a non-recurring item. We're all learning what we need to do with the stimulus money."
The Nebraska School Boards Association has been encouraging districts to use stimulus money on one-time purchases, said Brian Hale, an association spokesman.
Hale said it was hard for him to comment on the specifics of Bellevue's transaction, although on the surface, he said, $540,000 seems high for four elementary schools.
"Software is a big global general term. It can mean one piece of software or a whole series of operating systems," he said. "It's hard to say if it's an outrageous amount."
Board member Nina Wolford questioned the price, but said she hopes for the best.
"Perhaps in the future, the board may want to take a closer look at unusual expenditures like this one," she said.
The remaining stimulus money of $73,000 has been spent on hardware upgrades in the four Title 1 schools, Fairbairn said.
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