PLACENTIA : District to Replace Computer System

After nearly two years of analysis, research and soliciting bids, the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District on Tuesday awarded a $1.35-million contract to replace its aging computer system.

When it was purchased in 1977, the system was considered state of the art. The school district was one of the first in the nation to use the computer, and the software commissioned by the district was soon duplicated by school districts across the United States.

Now, according to a computer consultant hired by the district, Placentia-Yorba Linda is the last K-12 district in the state still using the computer system, which processes the district’s financial, student and personnel records.

The system has become so obsolete, said consultant Jim Anderson, that the manufacturer, Digital Equipment Co., had previously announced it would no longer service it after this year.

The board of trustees voted 3 to 1 to award the contract to Digital Equipment Co. and Digitronic Software. Trustee Barbara Williams opposed the contract, saying there was inadequate information about how the purchase would be funded. Trustee William Kielty was absent.

“I don’t oppose the computer,” Williams said. “I don’t feel comfortable (approving the contract) without knowing in advance where funding is coming from.”

Kim Stallings, assistant superintendent for business, told the board that the district had several financing options and that his staff was still determining which was best. He presented the board one of the most favorable financing arrangement he had found, a seven-year, 5.23% loan, with annual payments of $224,741.

The loan would be repaid, Stallings said, from redevelopment and developer fees. Last year the district collected more than $1 million from developers. While the future of developer and redevelopment fees is unsure as school districts await the outcome of legislation that would take those fees away from schools and give them to the state, Stallings said the district currently has enough money to service the debt.