This chapter discusses CISD's computer and technology functions in four sections:

A. Organization and Management

B. Grant Writing

C. Technology Planning

D. Administrative Technology

TECHNOLOGY PLANNING

FINDING ---    ComalISD has no disaster recovery plan and no backup equipment on which it can run critical applications. This could result in lost productivity and an inability to pay the district's salaries and bills, make purchases, and conduct other critical functions.

The district runs nightly backups of its APECS system and stores the tapes off-site. Unfortunately, these tapes would be useful only if the district had back-up hardware on which to run the application; the district does not have this hardware.

Exhibit 6-7 summarizes some of the key elements in a disaster recovery plan. 

Exhibit 6-7
Summary of Key Disaster Recovery Plan Elements

Step	Details
Build the disaster recovery team	Identify a disaster recovery team that includes key policymakers, building management, end-users, key outside contractors, and technical staff.
Obtain and/or approximate key information	Develop an exhaustive list of critical activities performed within the district. Develop an estimate of the minimum space and equipment necessary for restoring essential operations. Develop a timeframe for starting initial operations after a security incident. Develop a list of key personnel and their responsibilities.
Perform and/or delegate key duties	Develop an inventory of all assets, including data, software, hardware, documentation and supplies. Set up a reciprocal agreement with comparable organizations to share each other's equipment or lease backup equipment to allow the district to operate critical functions in the event of a disaster. Make plans to procure hardware, software, and other equipment as necessary to ensure that critical operations are resumed as soon as possible. Establish procedures for obtaining off-site backup records. Locate support resources that might be needed (e.g., equipment repair, trucking, and cleaning companies). Arrange with vendors to provide priority delivery for emergency orders. Identify data recovery specialists and establish emergency agreements.
Specify details within the plan	Identify individual roles and responsibilities by name and job title so that everyone knows exactly what needs to be done. Define actions to be taken in advance of an occurrence or undesirable event. Define actions to be taken at the onset of an undesirable event to limit damage, loss, and compromised data integrity. Identify actions to be taken to restore critical functions. Define actions to be taken to reestablish normal operations.
Test the plan	Test the plan frequently and completely. Analyze the results to improve the plan and identify further needs.
Deal with damage appropriately	If a disaster actually occurs, document all costs and videotape the damage. Be prepared to overcome downtime on your own; insurance settlements can take time to resolve.
Give consideration to other significant issues.	Don't make a plan unnecessarily complicated. Make one individual responsible for maintaining the plan, but have it structured so that others are authorized and prepared to implement it if needed. Update the plan regularly and whenever changes are made to your system.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, "Safeguarding your Technology." Modified by the Texas School Performance Review.

The director of Technology recognizes the importance of a disaster recovery plan. He has developed but not yet documented a disaster recovery plan for the district; however, implementation of the plan is expensive and the director says the district does not have the funds available at this time.

1.	The Technology director includes providing disaster recovery as part of the request for proposals (RFP) to procure a replacement computer system.	June 1999
2.	The district evaluates disaster recovery solutions as part of evaluating the proposed computer systems.	October 1999
3.	The district acquires the components of the new system.	July 2000
4.	New system is installed and tested.	January 2001

Recommendation 69:

Prepare a comprehensive disaster recovery plan and ensure that the district's new administrative computer system includes provisions for disaster recovery.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE

When the district identifies the computer system to replace APECS, it should ensure that the new system includes provisions for disaster recovery. The solution may involve purchasing or leasing a backup server or may call for the identification of an entity with compatible hardware that would allow the district to use its hardware in case of an emergency.

FISCAL IMPACT

The cost of the disaster recovery solution would be included in the cost of the replacement computer system, so no fiscal impact would be associated with this particular recommendation.

FINDING

The district is behind in preparing its technology for the Year 2000. The Year 2000 (Y2K) problem stems from the fact that many computer programs track dates in two digits rather than four. As a result, the year 2000 will be read as 00 and might be confused with the year 1900. This can cause countless problems with almost any electronic device, including not only the district's administrative software that manages payroll, financial accounting, student scheduling, and attendance, but also elevators, electronic locks, heating, air conditioning, refrigerators, fire alarms, card-entry systems, food preparation equipment, and sprinkler systems. Among other potential results, operations may come to a halt, safety may be jeopardized, and individuals and vendors may not be paid.

Preparing for Y2K is a time-consuming process that takes years, not months, to complete. CISD is dangerously behind. Exhibit 6-8 presents a high-level description of the steps involved and CISD's status on each step.

Exhibit 6-8
Steps in Year 2000 Project

Phase	Key Processes	Status
Awareness	Define the Year 2000 problem and its potential impact on the enterprise Conduct Year 2000 awareness campaign Assess the adequacy of the agency's program management capabilities Develop Year 2000 strategy Obtain support from executive management Establish Year 2000 executive management team Appoint Year 2000 program manager Identify technical and management contacts in core business areas	Less than 50 percent complete
Assessment	Define Year 2000 compliance Focus on core business areas and processes and develop a Year 2000 assessment document Assess the severity of the impact of Year 2000-induced failures Conduct districtwide inventory of information systems for each business area Develop a comprehensive automated system portfolio Analyze system portfolio Prioritize systems and components to be converted or replaced Establish Year 2000 project teams for business areas and major systems Develop Year 2000 program plan Identify, prioritize, and mobilize needed resources Develop validation strategies, testing plans, and scripts Identify and acquire Year 2000 tools Address implementation schedule issues Address interface and data exchange issues Initiate the development of contingency plans for mission-critical systems Identify Year 2000-vulnerable systems and processes operating outside the technology department	Less than 25 percent complete
Renovation	Convert selected applications, databases, archives, and related system components Develop data bridges and filters Replace selected applications and related system components Document code and system changes Schedule unit, integration, and system tests Retire selected applications and related system components Communicate changes to information systems to internal and external users Track conversion and replacement process, collect project metrics Share information among Year 2000 projects, including lessons learned and best practices	Not begun
Validation	Develop and document test and compliance plans and schedules Develop strategy for managing the testing of contractor plans and schedules Develop strategy for managing the testing of contractor converted systems Implement Year 2000 test facility Implement automated test tools and test scripts Perform unit, integration, and system testing Define, collect, and use test metrics to manage the testing and validation process Initiate acceptance testing	Not begun

Source: General Accounting Office, Year 2000 Computing Crisis: An Assessment Guide (modified by Texas School Performance Review).

In January 1999, the CISD board approved the hiring of a full-time Y2K project manager. This individual will focus entirely on preparing the district for Y2K until the middle of 2000, at which point the position will be changed into a technician position. While this person can manage the district's Y2K activities, the district will need additional contracted support to identify and implement all necessary changes in time.

While the district has hired a Y2K specialist, it does not appear that this will be sufficient to ensure that CISD is ready by the end-of-year deadline. The individual hired, moreover, does not have specific experience with Y2K projects.

Recommendation 70:

Hire Year 2000 contractors to complete implementation of Year 2000 fixes.

The contractor should be able to offer expertise during the critical assessment period to ensure that all needed changes are identified. Once these needs are defined, the district would be able to contact the vendors of the systems involved to determine what steps are necessary to make the system Y2K-compliant. The contractor also should work with school staff to define a role in the effort for them, train them on accomplishing their responsibilities, and ensure that their duties are completed effectively. The district's Y2K specialist can manage these changes with the vendors, but it is important to have the contractor's involvement at the assessment stage to ensure that all critical needs are identified in a timely manner.

1.	The superintendent alerts all key administrative and technology staff concerning accelerated Year 2000 project.	May 1999
2.	The director of Technology and the Year 2000 project manager write RFP to hire experienced Year 2000 contractors.	June 1999
3.	The purchasing agent advertises the RFP and receives bids.	June 1999
4.	The superintendent, the director of Technology, and the Year 2000 project manager evaluate bids and make award recommendation.	July 1999
5.	The purchasing agent awards contract.	July 1999
6.	The contractors begin work and develop an emergency plan for completing Year 2000 changes and testing them by December 15, 1999.	August 1999
7.	The Year 2000 project manager gives weekly reports on progress of the work to the director of Technology and school administrators.	On-going
8.	The superintendent reports to the board on the successful completion of the Year 2000 project.	December 1999

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE

FISCAL IMPACT

This fiscal impact assumes that the district hires two contractors at $95 an hour for 40 hours a week, for eight weeks. According to several Y2K consultants, $95 is a standard hourly rate for this type of work.

Recommendation	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
Hire Year 2000 contractors	($60,800)	$0	$0	$0	$0

FINDING

While CISD is moving in the right direction with its development of its technical infrastructure, there is no way of measuring the progress towards the technology plan because it lacks concrete details that can be measured. The district has a technology plan, but it does not provide clear steps showing how it will be implemented. The plan appears to have been developed to satisfy grant requirements rather than to serve as a guiding document for the district's activities. The director of Technology recognizes that the plan is not ideal and says that the department's workload has prevented him from spending the time needed to develop a more effective plan.

The CISD technology plan identifies the following goals for the district's technology:

• Comal ISD will complete the district infrastructure. Data and video will be transmitted between campuses and the world. The Comal Infrastructure will allow our district to become a paperless district and offer electronic text books to our students and staff.
• Provide a laptop computer check out program for students and parents. The Comal Intranet will then be accessible to all students and parents via a Remote Access Server.
• Comal ISD will provide adult education in the evening to promote adult literacy. CISD will also offer Internet, word processing, spreadsheet, and programming classes.
• Comal ISD will provide distance learning and offer college level technical and non-technical classes to our students.
• Comal ISD is committed to aggressively researching and applying for technology grants to maximize the amount of staff development and equipment we have to offer our children. Comal ISD will hire a full time Grant Writer in the 1998-99 school year.
• Comal ISD will provide all pertinent information about our district on the Comal ISD home page, including campus and district statistics, bus routes, employment opportunities, superintendent and board member information and goals, board meeting information, sports, band, and demographic data.
• Comal ISD will provide teacher competency training to determine individual teachers' strengths and weaknesses, training programs will be created and provided to all teachers, teachers will then be re-tested to ensure that the provided training meets or exceeds expectations.
• Comal ISD will prepare students to participate and collaborate in a technological environment.
• Comal ISD will provide the infrastructure, hardware and software that permit the utilization of technological developments in the instructional program.
• Comal ISD will provide students and teachers with access to computer hardware and software so that they may become a vital part of the instructional process and support the management of curriculum.
• Comal ISD will continue to seek out and utilize new technologies in order that students, teachers, and administrators are provided the tools necessary to effectively compete in the world today and in the future.
• Comal ISD will dispose of worn out or outdated technology according to district policy.

The plan also includes a list of technology tasks. The list is well-structured in that it attempts to capture the information needed for each task, including the person responsible, the task due date, the required funds, the funds used, the completion date, and the percent completed; however, it is not clear how the tasks connect to the plan's goals or to the department's budget. Moreover, 91 of the 95 items are assigned to the Technology director, an unrealistic workload.

The department has used the plan to win many grants. To manage the details of the department's activities, the Technology director tracks tasks along with their start and end dates in Microsoft Project.

According to TSPR's survey of CISD campus administrators and teachers, a majority of participants disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statements, "Technology in the district is well planned," and "Technology in the district is well implemented." (Exhibit 6-9). 

Exhibit 6-9
Campus Administrator and Teacher Survey Results on Technology

Statement	No Response	Strongly Agree	Agree	No Opinion	Disagree	Strongly Disagree	NA
Technology in the district is well planned.	1 %	5 %	16 %	16 %	37 %	26 %	0 %
Technology in the district is well implemented.	1 %	4 %	15 %	13 %	40 %	26 %	1 %

Source: TSPR Survey.

When similar questions were presented to central office administrators, 56 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed that "Technology in the district is well planned," and 60 percent disagreed that "Technology in the district is implemented effectively." As previously stated, the district has made tremendous progress in recent years in implementing technology; however, according to these survey results, many in the district are not aware of this progress.

Recommendation 71:

Refine the technology plan to ensure that tasks described in the plan are consistent with district goals and spending priorities.

The technology plan should include the steps or tasks required to accomplish each goal. For each task, the plan should include an estimated cost, a funding source, the person responsible for completing the task, its priority, and the timeframe for completion. The technology plan should be developed with input from teachers and administrators as well as students, parents, and community members. The processes of identifying the tasks, cost estimates, and timeframes for each goal would assist the director of Technology in developing a realistic plan. Once the plan is finalized, the director should identify the detailed steps required to accomplish the tasks and should enter them into Microsoft Project. This would allow him to track the implementation of the plan.

The director of Technology should produce quarterly reports on the progress of the plan's implementation. These quarterly reports should be presented at board meetings so that the board, district employees and community members can be informed. The director also should ensure that the technology plan reflects and supports the districtwide goals and objectives in the district's strategic plan.

Coordinating the goals, tasks, and detailed steps may make it easier for people in the district and in the community to see that the district's goals are being accomplished.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINE

1.	The director of Technology works with his staff and representatives from schools and administration to identify goals and tasks for the technology plan.	June - July 1999
2.	The director of Technology works with his staff and representatives from schools and administration to identify cost, source of funds, person responsible for, and deadline for each task.	July - August 1999
3.	The director of Technology updates the technology plan.	September 1999
4.	The director of Technology tracks detailed tasks in Microsoft Project.	November 1999
5.	The director of Technology presents the first quarterly progress report.	January 2000

FISCAL IMPACT

This recommendation could be implemented with existing resources.

• Texas Online
• Statewide Search from the Texas State Library
• State Link Policy
• Texas Homeland Security

source: →Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller  • Window on State Government • Contact Us

• Privacy and Security
• Accessibility
• Link Policy
• Public Information Act
• Compact with Texans