Case Study

The Rockwall Independent School District (ISD) encompasses five communities in Rockwall and Heath, Texas, and is located about 23 miles east of Dallas. One of the fastest growing school districts in the state, Rockwall ISD each year educates more than 12,000 students in grades pre-K through high school.

Challenge: Handling Increased Reporting Requirements Through Improved Technology and Processes

Mike Singleton, chief financial officer of the Rockwall ISD, joined the district in February 2003. He says he had not been on the job too long when he realized the district was going to have to make some changes with its software and technology capabilities. "It took me about a year or two to get a feel about where we needed to go. Then in the fall of 2004 we started to talk about what we wanted to do as a district and what we wanted our software to do."

As a fast-growth district, Singleton says Rockwall ISD had basically outgrown its software and that the technology had not kept up with current standards. "We knew that in the future we were going to have some additional reporting requirements, so we started to look at what the different options were. We wanted something that was flexible, that was more current and up to date with technology, and that could handle the specific reporting requirements for Texas."

When Singleton and his team began their research on different software options, they soon discovered that the district's curriculum and instruction staff were having similar discussions. "We then joined forces and as a committee began to look for a product that could handle both the financial and the student management sides. We thought it would be beneficial to have both of these programs from the same vendor."