CORE is Lincoln Public Schools’ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system powered by Infor. CORE connects and organizes our essential functions across the district like human resources, payroll, receivables and accounting, so that everyone is working with the same data and processes. CORE brings a modern interface and improved efficiencies to support our district.
Vision
A progressive solution that more efficiently supports the work of the school district and provides a foundation for new possibilities.
Mission
The mission of CORE is to provide processes and systems that increase transparency, improve efficiency, and embrace modernization to support our exemplary school district.
Timeline
Implementing CORE is a lot like building a house. There are many different stages spread out over a 2 year implementation timeline. Read below for the planned implementation.
Design / Inception
July - October 2017
Prior to starting construction on a house, an architect will meet with the future homeowner to understand the future occupants needs and wants. This information is converted into an architectural plan that encapsulates the design requirements and provides the builder the correct sequence of events, types and amount of material and the specifications required to build a solid structure. An ERP system requires similar planning activities. Initially a plan will be created, then consultants will meet with District staff to understand existing business processes. The consultant will then work with staff to identify improvement opportunities and incorporate those into a future state “to-be” business process.
Foundation / Elaboration
October 2017 - May 2018
Once building construction has started, it is essential to construct a foundation that will provide the stability and capacity required for the actual building. Without this, the building will ultimately fail. Similar to the foundation construction, the Elaboration Phase is that part of the project where core requirements are unearthed, initial validation is done to ensure that the planned approach will provide the necessary level of functionality and the groundwork is laid for the rest of the project.
Framing / Construction
May 2018 - June 2019
When constructing a house, the bulk of construction will occur during the framing section of the build. During this phase, the walls, roof and exterior work will be completed. After this is complete, the house will begin to look like a house, even though there is interior work that must be completed before the new owners can move in. The Construction Phase of the ERP project is similar in that during this Phase the Project Team will begin to configure the solution as well as construct the required interfaces, data conversion programs and custom reports. Once all of the construction is finished, the entire program will go through several iterations of testing to validate the design.
Interior & Trim / Transition
June 2019 - August 2019
Once the core building is constructed, the interior components must be completed, This occurs during this phase of housing construction. While not as significant as the framing stage in terms of overall construction, this phase is essential to ensure livability for the new owners. The Transition Stage of the ERP project will accomplish the same thing. The Project Team will undertake extensive end user training to ensure that users are able “live” within the new system. Additionally, the project team will perform one last user acceptance test to validate that the system performs as designed. Once complete, the District will be ready to “go-live” on the new Infor CORE system.
Occupancy / Optimize
September 2019 - The Next 30 Years
The last step in the building process is obtaining the actual certificate of occupancy and moving into the new home. While difficult at first due to the amount of work, and the differences between the old house and new house, overtime, the homeowner will settle into the new house and it will become home. The Optimize Phase of the ERP system implementation occurs after the system has been put into production. The combined Infor team will support end users through this transition via help desk support and post go-live training. Potential improvement opportunities will also be identified. Lastly, processes will be put into place to assist LPS with the continued management and maintenance of the system.
Go live in:
Components of LPS CORE
This system is core to business, finance, purchasing, and human resources across Lincoln Public Schools. It consolidates many different resources into one streamlined system, and will impact many processes used across the district. The different areas updated by CORE include but are not limited to:
Accounts Payable
Accounts Receivable
Budgeting
Cash Receipting
Cash Management
Contract & Document
Management
Employee Benefits
Employee & Manager
Self-Service
Expense Reimbursement
Financial Reporting
Fixed Asset Management
General Ledger
Grant Management
Human Resources Core
Inventory Management
Payroll
Project Accounting
Purchasing
Recruiting
School Activity Management
Talent Management
Time and Attendance
The CORE system is made up of many different modules, all working together to make one large environment. Below is a visual representation of our system:
Executive Leadership Team
Kirk Langer
Chief Technology Officer
Computing Services
klanger@lps.org
Dr. Liz Standish
Associate Superintendent
Business Affairs
lstandis@lps.org
Dr. Matt Larson
Interim Assistant to the Superintendent for Instruction
mrl@lps.org
Dr. Eric Weber
Associate Superintendent
Human Resources
eweber@lps.org
Project Leadership Team
If you have questions about any aspect of this system, please check our FAQs (coming soon), or contact one of the project leads below:
Matt Bellamy
Director of Purchasing
Business Affairs
mbellam@lps.org
Mike Flanagin
Senior Systems Analyst
Computing Services
mflan@lps.org
Patty Hammond (Project Manager)
Development and Reporting Coordinator
Computing Services
phammond@lps.org
Nancy Hoppe
Employee Relations, Compensation & Benefits Specialist
Human Resources
nhoppe@lps.org
Kelli Ackerman
Director of Accounting and Payroll
Business Affairs
kackerm@lps.org
Drew Ramaekers
Ed Tech & Training Manager, CORE Change Manager
Computing Services
drama@lps.org
Seth Ristow
Information Security Officer
Computing Services
sristow@lps.org
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a large project, impacting every employee in Lincoln Public Schools, and we know there are lots of questions. We will be posting the most frequently asked questions here. If your question isn’t answered, please click the button below to ask your question.
Acronyms and Terms
With all of the different pieces and parts of the CORE system, it can seem like people are speaking a different language. Here is a list of the more frequently used acronyms and terms.
