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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Eagle Trace is Medford's first Firewise community ... Track failure likely cause of oil train derailment ... UPDATE: Missing Ashland teen found ... Eagle Trace is Medford's first Firewise community ... Track failure likely cause of oil train derailment ... UPDATE: Missing Ashland teen found ... Medford schools to replace outdated software Swap will cost nearly $800,000, district says Out with the old and in with the new: The Medford School District will spend nearly $800,000 and at least 18 months replacing its outdated software program for managing information on finances and human resources. Comment By Paris Achen MailTribune.com By Paris Achen Posted Apr. 7, 2011 at 2:00 AM Updated Apr 8, 2011 at 3:49 PM By Paris Achen Posted Apr. 7, 2011 at 2:00 AM Updated Apr 8, 2011 at 3:49 PM » Social News Out with the old and in with the new: The Medford School District will spend nearly $800,000 and at least 18 months replacing its outdated software program for managing information on finances and human resources. The district of about 12,300 students has contracted with Chico, Calif.-based SunGard Business PLUS to implement new software. The new software will streamline payroll, financial information and human resources, including enabling employees for the first time to obtain information and make changes in their health insurance plan online, district officials said. "We are trying to get out of the '80s," said Todd Bloomquist, Medford schools human resources director. The software upgrade will replace the district's Affirm software, written in old-school COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) computer language. The district has had the Affirm software since 1985 and has relied on information technology manager Keith Brabham, who has been with the district since 1984, to rig it up over the years to meet district needs, said Brad Earl, Medford schools chief financial officer. In early 2010, Hewlett-Packard finally discontinued the HP 3000 computer, the only system that operates the district's software. Although other companies swept in to meet demand for maintenance and to dig up parts for the obsolete computer system, it's possible that such services will wane or vanish as HP 3000 computers and their parts become rarer, Brabham said. The district plans to use $800,000 out of its $3.8 million reserve fund to pay for the software upgrade. The reserve fund consists of money committed for specific purposes, including software, hardware, building maintenance, textbook purchases, stadium turf replacement and property loss deductible. SunGard, which specializes in school and public entities, was the lowest of four bidders for the upgrade and was up against Tyler/Munis, CSA/Infinite Visions and Willamette Education Service District. The contract with SunGard includes an annual cap on the cost to the district for software maintenance and upgrades for the next 10 years. The cap is $35,600 in the first year and increases by 5 percent annually in the subsequent nine years, Earl said. Installing the new software for the district's financial information is expected to take about six months, Earl said. Human resources and payroll will take about a year to implement, he said. Human resources will use the software to do reports on demographics, pay and educator licenses, to track job applications and to manage the district health insurance program, Bloomquist said. He said timecards are done by hand. The new software would allow timecards to be filled in electronically. It also would allow employees to make changes to their health insurance plan online instead of going to the central administration office, filling in a paper form and waiting for a human resources employee to input that information into the computer system. The need for new software was identified in 2006 but was postponed for other priorities, including completing a $189 million bond package and moving student records software to a new platform, Brabham said. Brabham has rewritten about 80 percent of the original Affirms programs and created more than 150 new programs for the district in the past 20 years, Earl said. District officials said they fear that if they don't replace the software, they won't be able to find anyone who knows COBOL and the Affirms system after Brabham retires. He is eligible to retire in three years. "Keith is one of the last people on Earth that knows this software," Earl quipped. Reach reporter Paris Achen at 541-776-4459 or email [email protected]. By Paris Achen MailTribune.com By Paris Achen Posted Apr. 7, 2011 at 2:00 AM Updated Apr 8, 2011 at 3:49 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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