Lake Bluff Schools May Use Online Registration

parents may soon be able to register their children for school online.

District officials are considering a move in which parents would register their children through a program called “EZ School Registration.” Offered through SRC Solutions Inc., the program is already used by a number of districts, including in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

District Spokeswoman Kathleen Reidy and Technology Coordinator Laurie Brown presented the program to the District 65 school board Tuesday night. The goal, Reidy said, is to have the program in place by May for use in registering students for the 2011-12 school year.

Reidy said in past years, parents were mailed large volumes of documents that then had to be returned to the district. Then, for the 2010-11 school year, the district stopped mailing the documents.

“There were some positives,” said Reidy, adding that parents liked being able to access the documents online at home.

Now, Reidy said, the goal is to move to a process that is “convenient, accurate and secure.”

Representatives from District 65, Lake Forest School District 67 and Lake Forest Community High School District 115 met and looked at two online registration programs, ultimately agreeing to use “EZ School Registration.”

Brown said the program works like this: first, the parents access the program through the school website. If the students have already been enrolled in District 65 schools, their identification information will already be available in the online registration program through PowerSchool student information system.

New parents, Brown said, would have to create a login and password and then fill in information about their child, including the name, date of birth and allergy information.

Then, all parents are presented with policies to agree to, including the student handbook. At that point, most parents are finished with the process, Brown said. New parents, however, will be given a list of documents they must bring to the district.

The district registrar can check the data for accuracy and send it, individually or in batches, to the PowerSchool system. Brown added parents can log into the program during the school year to update information, including contact phone numbers.

Brown said for parents without Internet access, a station will be available in the district office to register students.

To go ahead with the program, the district will have to purchase some hardware, Brown said, including a server, document scanner and signature pad, totaling $11,200.

Reidy said there will also be software-related costs. The set-up, installation and training will cost the district $17,000. That, along with the $3,750 annual licensing fee, adds up to $20,750 in first-year costs.

She added there would be some “definite cost savings” should Districts 67 and 115 opt to use the program as well. District 67 officials, Reidy said, are set to talk about the online registration program soon.

Brown said District 115 already held its 2011-12 registration.

School Board President Kim Burke recommended the finance committee take a look at the issue and present their findings to the school board in March.

“They’ll be looking at it in terms of, ‘Do we have the funds?’” Reidy said.