ADAMS TWP — A lengthy and at times heated discussion on the district’s technology dominated this week’s Mars School Board meeting, which also saw the head of the district’s contracted technology firm speak out against rumor and innuendo regarding his company.

Earlier this summer, the board agreed to spend more than $585,844 among three vendors for servers, storage and Chromebooks in the district. The agreement included $184,440 for Cisco US Servers and Jetstor Storage purchased from Information Technology Procurement Sourcing (ITPS); $236,180 for VMWare Licenses and 168 units of memory from Black Rock; and $165,223 for 661 Chromebooks and cover cases from ePlus.

A week later, however, the board rescinded that vote, as components of those contracts were found to be incompatible. As a result, the board rescinded $93,912 for the memory portion of the contract from Black Rock, and awarded to ITPS a contract of $124,176 for the same product.

The board also agreed to pay an additional $24,000 to ITPS for the installation and implementation of the project, which was separate from the district’s three-year contract with the company.

Tech delays

During the board’s regular meeting Tuesday, Wes Shipley, superintendent, said because of the delay in approving the purchases of the servers, that equipment was not delivered as quickly as expected. That lead to some students not receiving their computers on time,

Shipley also cited internal issues with spreadsheets indicating who should receive the equipment, but said at this point, every high school student who should have a computer has one.

“We did recognize that they went out slower than we had hoped, but the most important thing is when they received their computers, everything was operational,” he said, adding the software, servers and other technology have worked well thus far. “Right now, we find ourselves in a pretty good place.”

Shipley added that eighth grade students received their computers Thursday, and seventh graders Friday. He said those machines were intentionally held from students as final tweaks were made to the system.

“We didn’t want to give them the Chromebooks only to have them have to change operating systems six days into school,” he said.

Shipley said ITPS worked “tirelessly” to implement the new technology and make sure the system was operational.

Technology plan

Members of the district’s technology office, as well as ITPS officials, also addressed the board Tuesday about the new technology and the district’s plan.

Mike Devinney from the district technology office said the technology in the district is more than 10 years old, and a five-year plan aimed to address those concerns. The lease on computers at the middle school was up, leading officials to the Chromebook option.

Also implemented was a virtual desktop, which allows students and teachers to log on to the school’s system from any remote location using any device. He said there is also an increased focus on the help desk and tech support system, with the new system allowing support staff to fix a number of problems remotely within a few seconds.

He said it lays the foundation for technology replacement moving forward.

“The whole understanding of the plan was let’s invest in the foundation this year, and then each year let’s look at the older equipment ... so Mars doesn’t have anything that extends over five years old,” he said.

Devinney said his team was challenged by the quick turnaround time for installing the new system, but extra resources were provided by ITPS that went, “above and beyond” what was outlined in the contract.

Vendor conflicts

Still, members of the overflow crowd at Tuesday’s meeting continued to question the district’s relationship with ITPS.

Last month, some took issue with board member William Pettigrew and solicitor Thomas King’s relationship with the company.

Both King and Pettigrew, who served as a consultant to the company, disclosed their relationships before discussions, and both abstained from matters involving the company. Others questioned the company’s stability, pointing to social media rumors but provided no additional details.

On Tuesday, resident Bill Sommers again questioned the board about ITPS and the company’s financial situation, as well as the bid process for securing the technology contracts.

He said there have been “rampant allegations” of fraud and misappropriation of funds at ITPS, as well as turnover in leadership. He said this is a cause for concern about the district’s contract with the company.

King said the company’s financial records and financial stability are not the concern of the board, and that information is not made available. He said the district approaches all contracts in the same manner.

“Any business that we contract with could have financial issues,” he said. “They could go out of business tomorrow, and if they do, we’ll have to deal with it.”

King added that thus far, district officials are pleased with the services provided by ITPS, and have no concerns.

“They’ve done what they’ve contracted to do,” he said. “It’s up to Dr. Shipley, if he believes that that’s not happening, he certainly is going to tell the board, and he’s going to tell the world.”

Dan Bunner, CEO of ITPS, pointedly challenged the rumors about the company.

“I am troubled by what you think you know and what you do know,” he said to Sommers. “We’re a closely held organization. Our financials are limited to a very small group of people, so if you have information on our company, I’d like to know where you’re getting that from.”

Bunner said the company is on stable ground, and committed to providing the district with anything it can to ensure the implementation of the new technology is seamless.

“Things you’re hearing on social media, I don’t know where that’s coming from,” he said. “I don’t pay attention to it, and I suggest you don’t pay attention to it.”