Three companies are finalists to replace the Howard County school system's faulty information management system.

For the past year, school technology directors have been searching for a new system, which they hope to select by June, said Jose Stevenson, director of the schools' Office of Information Technology.

An update on the search was presented to the Board of Education April 24.

The county's current system of tracking students' grades, schedules and personal information has been plagued by errors since it was installed at the county's 12 high schools in July 2005. The company that developed it, Chancery Software, has since been purchased by a company called Pearson Education.

In November 2005, the system generated 1,700 inaccurate report cards. Concerns over the system's accuracy led to delays in report cards and student schedules in 2006 as well.

Since the summer of 2006, officials have used the Pearson system in tandem with older software. They initially stood by the Pearson system, saying they were confident the glitches could be mended, but later reversed course and decided to seek a new system.

Stevenson said the new centralized, Web-based system must perform 722 functions to track student registration, demographics, attendance, scheduling, behavior and health records.

A 40-member committee of administrators, teachers, data clerks, registrars, counselors and community members evaluated seven proposed systems during a two-day trial in February. The committee judged the systems based on performance and functionality to narrow the field down to three finalists, Stevenson said.

The three finalists are X2 Development Corp., based in Hingham, Mass.; Infinite Campus, based in Arden Hills, Minn.; and Century Consultants, based in Lakewood, N.J.

"The committee made sure these were good companies and would have the capability to provide a solution," Stevenson said.

School board member Diane Mikulis said she has been impressed with the thoroughness of the search to date.

"I know we can't be too careful," she added.

The committee will do a cost evaluation of the three systems in May and June, and will present its recommendation to the school board in June, Stevenson said.

A staggered rollout of the new system is scheduled to take place in the 2008-2009 school year, Stevenson said. He estimates it will take three years to test and install the new system in all county schools.

"We want to make sure the implementation is done smoothly with minimal disruptions to the schools," he added.

Robert Glascock-- assistant superintendent of curriculum, instruction and technology-- said the schools have budgeted $6 million for the project over the next four years. Glascock said he is confident the actual cost of the new system will be less than that amount.

E-mail Sarah Daniels at sdaniels@patuxent.com.

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