SchoolDude

19 School Districts in Delaware Manage Capital Plans Online

Dover, D.E. (July 28, 2004) - The Delaware Department of Education has selected SchoolDude.com to provide a statewide capital planning system for its 19 public school districts. This initiative will provide Delaware schools with the first web-native system to integrate district and statewide long-range capital planning with the day-to-day maintenance process of each school. The new system - PlanningDirect from SchoolDude.com - assists school facility personnel, the State Department of Education and state legislators with tools to better manage information about capital budgets and the condition of school facility systems such as roofs, carpet and HVAC.

The new web-native PlanningDirect system replaces a legacy client-server architecture system that had to be hosted and managed by the State. The PlanningDirect application is delivered over the Internet with SchoolDude.com managing the systems server, data backup and software upgrades. This saves state resources and funds by significantly reducing the time and cost needed to own and operate the system as well as provides improved system uptime and reliability. Additionally, PlanningDirect allows state officials to view each districts capital plan data and aggregate that information to greatly simplify state level plan analysis and reporting.

"SchoolDude has helped us to improve communications with our districts. It helps us to close the gap between perceived need and actual need," said Nicholas Vacirca, Education Associate, School Plant Planning for Delawares Department of Education. "There was a time when a district would have to explain the need for major renovations. Now that the State can also view what the need is, the discussion between perceived need and actual need is much smaller. Having the ability to see what the need is across the State also helps us support districts when looking for other ways to fund projects."

Vacirca added, "By choosing SchoolDude, we are able to go to a web-native solution that will certainly reduce the downtime we are currently experiencing. An additional benefit of a web-native solution is access from any location."

"We are excited about working with Mr. Vacirca and the Delaware Department of Education because they provide a compelling example of how web-native technology can solve and simplify state facilities reporting along with the day-to-day management of school facilities," said Lee Prevost, President and Founder of SchoolDude.com.

In addition to utilizing PlanningDirect, districts across Delaware can optionally purchase other SchoolDude systems to help better manage facility functions such as work order processing, preventive maintenance, inventory management, facility usage scheduling, utility tracking, and technology workflow management. By using the statewide PlanningDirect system with SchoolDude's MaintenanceDirect work order management system, districts can integrate their capital planning and maintenance work order processes. This ensures that capital plan and cost information is accurate and up-to-date throughout the year.

Many school districts across the state are already using the PlanningDirect system and are benefiting from the program’s efficiency and ease of use. Gail Slaughter of the Sussex Technical School District Facilities and Operations Department said, "Having worked for the State of Delaware for 31 years, I have seen numerous maintenance, inventory control and budget programs. The SchoolDude database [PlanningDirect and MaintenanceDirect] is by far the most user-friendly, highly efficient program I have ever used. Not only can we track all maintenance projects and maintain budget information on each project, we can also tie those figures into the State of Delaware's financial management system reports. SchoolDude.com is a first-class organization with a first-rate facilities management program."

SchoolDude's product suite is designed specifically for educational institutions and is cost effective for both small and large districts because the application services are delivered over the Internet. Offering affordable facility management technology to educational institutions is crucial to the future of the American educational system, which has recently seen maintenance and operations budgets decline to a 30-year low according to American School and University magazine . And despite the growing evidence that clean, safe, comfortable school facilities positively affect student performance , estimates from School Business Affairs magazine indicate there is $266 billion in unmet funding for deferred maintenance and adequacy needs of school facilities (more than $5,000 per student enrolled) .

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SchoolDude is the nation's #1 provider of web-native facility management solutions designed exclusively for the unique needs of educational facility professionals. Backed by the industrys only Legendary Service Program, SchoolDude's broad suite of online applications is revolutionizing the business of managing educational facilities. SchoolDude's web-native tools for facility management offer easy to use, affordable solutions to help both small and large educational institutions save money, increase efficiency and improve services. For more information about SchoolDude, visit www.schooldude.com .

For more information about Delaware's Department of Education, visit www.doe.state.de.us .