Education (K-12) Consultation Services
Top 10 Major School District IT Problems
Over the past few years we have found that there is a need in the K-12 educational area that we have been able to fill. We are able to help K-12 districts in multiple ways. Some districts have us assist their technical onsite full time staff because they need the expertise when it comes to larger projects. Other districts, such as Prairie du Chien and River Ridge, have felt that they are better off hiring consultants to run the entire district rather than having a full time staff member.
When you consider an employee at a $48,000 salary, you are actually closer to an $80,000 payout over the year when you include tax, equipment, benefits, vacation, and other factors. For a cost of $60-70,000 a year, you can have a team of consultants work with you and have somebody onsite over 20 hours per week. This gives you the expertise and knowledge that you can't get from a single employee. Also, you are getting an experienced staff that is familiar, or has a resource on the team, that is familiar with items such as ISES reporting, other DPI reports, lunch programs, and more. Most firms or employees don't have this experience, but we do.
Outdated Equipment
Underutilized Systems
Inconsistent Technology Implementation
No Standards
No Documentation
No Technology Map
Lack of Accountability
Technology Department Doing Too Much
Outsourcing to Unqualified Vendors
- No Enterprise Backup System With multiple Operating Systems running, we have found that many school districts have not implemented backup systems that can capture data from all systems, regardless of the OS. So, backup either never happens or it is a manual process that gets overlooked.
- Outdated Equipment For years the government gave schools money toward technology and many districts used this money wisely. However, as the funds have seemed to dry up in regards to grants, the systems have been neglected which causes the cost to rise every year you wait to update them.
- Underutilized Systems Many systems installed are not being used to their potential. This is a waste of money and resources.
- Inconsistent Technology Implementation We have found that many districts use what happens to be the cheapest at the time to solve the problem that they are facing. Cheapest isn't always the best solution. Over time, you have many different types of systems that do not work together optimally due to the way they were implemented.
- No Standards Many districts do not follow industry standards in regards to purchasing and implementing technology. This makes you dependent upon current support staff and makes it hard to replace staff when they leave.
- No Documentation Most IT departments put documentation as a low priority. This should be reclassified as a high priority. All systems should be documented so that in case of emergency or staff change, there is very minimal time to get new staff up to speed.
- No Technology Map Many districts react and try to find a solution to the problem they are facing that day. Districts need to have a technology map so that they can be proactive and take their technology in the direction they feel education is heading.
- Lack of Accountability Too many districts allow their technology departments to be on their own with very little supervision. This usually happens because administrators and boards simply do not understand technology. There needs to be tech committees, reports to the boards and administrators, and constant communication to all staff, including teachers, explaining what is happening and why it is happening. There also needs to be an understanding that the tech department should inform administrators of what they feel might be the best decision, but give them the pros and cons, and allow the administrators to make the decisions.
- Technology Department Doing Too Much Many schools try to get their technology departments to do too much, such as erate, web design content, state reporting, and more. Your technology departments should design the tools that allow the staff that are experts or know the requirements in these areas to do that work.
- Outsourcing to Unqualified Vendors The K-12 education arena is very different than any other arena. Consulting firms that are accustomed to working with businesses simply don't have the required knowledge to work with school districts.
