Schools OK Spending for Computer Fixes

The Capistrano Unified School District will spend $1.5 million to avoid year 2000 computer glitches and prepare for enrollment increases, trustees unanimously voted this week.

The biggest problem facing the district is its student information system (SASI). It will cost $1 million to replace the database, which contains student attendance, diploma and other information.

Besides the 2000 computer date issue, known as Y2K, the SASI system also needs to be replaced because it will not be able to handle the high number of new students that will flood the district in the near future.

The new system will be bought from either the maker of the current system, NCS, which contends the cost of upgrading the old system would be too great, or another company. District officials are reviewing proposals.

The district also has about 15 other computer systems, some of which are already Y2K compliant. Others need testing and minimal corrections and upgrading.

Supt. James A. Fleming suggested that board President Crystal Kochendorfer and member Marlene M. Draper ask the California School Board Assn. at an upcoming meeting to seek state funding for the Y2K fixes.

Of the $1.5 million, the district will spend $500,000 in this fiscal year and the remainder over the next couple of years.

The worldwide cost of fixing the Y2K problem has been estimated at between $400 billion and $1 trillion, according to district technology officials.