Awarding of ARRA funds prompts Durant Independent School District to track fixed assets

Durant Independent School District recently purchased the Asset4000 and Track4000 systems from Real Asset Management International (RAMI) to simplify its asset reporting and tracking and more efficiently manage its ARRA funds. The school district, located in southeast Oklahoma, has eight campuses serving approximately 3,400 students. Until recently, Durant Independent Schools has not had the capability of establishing depreciation schedules, thus allowing the district to know the true valuation of current assets.

With the recent award of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Durant
Independent School District needed a system to manage its assets. "The ARRA funds require detailed tracking," says Todd Hughes, CTO of Durant Public Schools, "and RAMI's solutions will give us complete accountability for those funds."

The school district expects to enter between 5,000 and 6,000 assets and will use RAMI's Asset4000 and Track4000 modules to manage the assets and maintain a comprehensive and centralized fixed asset register. Handheld scanners used in conjunction with Track4000 will help guide users through the set up process with easy pick lists and later through the auditing process with the ability to update items on-screen.

"All assets purchased through federal funding programs require tracking to indicate from which program they were attained," says Hughes. Utilizing the RAMI system, Durant I.S.D. will now be able to easily locate items using its barcode scanners. "Accountability is the main reason we chose RAMI's software," says Hughes, "but, other benefits we expect to see include decreases in insurance costs because of the tracking."

To make the transition to the software as seamless as possible, Durant I.S.D has also ordered barcode labels from RAMI, which can  be provided in various materials to suit any environment or requirement. The label includes the barcode and any additional text such as asset number or type.

RAMI's software will provide Durant I.S.D with a centralized and fully automated means of accurately managing all fixed asset data, increasing the school district's efficiency and keeping it in compliance with all ARRA tracking regulations.