JEFFERSONVILLE — The Greater Clark Schools Board of Trustees voted 4-3 Monday to send two employees to Orlando, Fla., to receive training for its new student information data system, PowerSchool, by Pearson.

The contentious decision to send Steve Cook and Connie Pavey to PowerSchool University next week comes after the board failed to pass the same resolution at its last meeting earlier this month.

The computer system — purchased for $225,000 after being approved by the board during the summer — includes tools for tracking student attendance and achievement, grade books, schedules and health records. A portal allows parents to check on grades, attendance and assignments completed. Installation of the software began in October and the program went into effect last month.

Pavey will attend the training Feb. 27 through March 4, while Cook will be there Feb. 27 until March 6. The total cost for the two is $7,220. Greater Clark Chief Operating Officer Marty Bell said $4,000 will come out of training funds set aside when the school system purchased the program. The remainder will come out of Bell’s travel fund.

“We spent quarter of a million dollars on new software for the corporation,” Bell said. “To get the most bang for our buck, I feel we need to have two people trained.”

Board members Mark Pavey, Ernie Gilbert, Christina Gilkey and Kevin Satterly voted in favor of the trip. Nancy Kraft, Becka Christensen and Robbie Valentine voted against.

Kraft and Christensen both said they could not support the expenditure when employees, such as teachers and custodians, may lose their jobs with the corporation looking to cut at least $3 million a year from its budget because of less money coming from the state. Satterly said they had already invested heavily in the program and should have the proper training to use it.

Gilbert described it as a “troubling situation” that they would be spending so much on training and said the board voted several years ago to restrict general-fund travel. However, he decided to vote in favor of the resolution because he believed the training was necessary in this case.

The board also voted on the training trip at its Feb. 8 meeting, but it failed via a 2-2 vote. Gilkey and Valentine were not at the meeting, and Pavey abstained since his wife will be going on the trip.

In an e-mail to The Evening News, Pavey explained his decision to vote Monday.

“I spent a lot of time thinking about this vote, checked with our school attorney and decided it was not a conflict of interest to vote on this item,” Pavey said. “I don’t really understand how voting for the superintendent’s recommendation to fund professional development could be considered a conflict of interest. We do it every meeting.

“This time, it involved my wife, an employee of more than 20 years with GCCS and responsible for training the entire staff of GCCS.”

Pavey said he researched the cost of the trip compared to on-site training, which is geared toward large groups, and determined the trip is a much cheaper option when dealing with only a couple of people.

Alice Butler, a Jeffersonville resident who regularly attends school board meetings, wrote an e-mail to the board members and copied The Evening News. She said the board’s credibility sunk to an all-time low with this vote.

“Right now we are faced with millions of dollars of budget cuts. There is no way we can afford to spend a penny on ‘optional’ items. I am appalled and disgusted with the four board members who voted for this,” Butler said. “Please don’t even think about telling a teacher, custodian or paraeducator that we don’t have the money to keep their job. Tell them that they are losing their job because we need to keep available funds to send people on trips to Walt Disney World resort ...”

The PowerSchool University takes place at the Walt Disney World Swan Resort. According to the program, attendees can receive discounted tickets to the Disney theme parks. Bell said Mark Pavey will not be going with his wife on the trip, and the corporation will not pay for any family members.

The same training will be offered this summer in Chicago, but Bell said the savings would be minimal and he did not believe it was worth waiting several months. Bell said Power School staff has provided 15 days of on-site training, but that is basic-level training. In Orlando, they will receive advanced training.

“It’s business practice when you put in new software with this kind of power,” Bell said.

Bell said 120 Indiana school systems use PowerSchool. Kraft questioned why they could not receive training from other school systems in the state, but Bell said they would receive better training from PowerSchool.

The decision comes as Greater Clark begins to consider where to make cuts in its budget. Superintendent Stephen Daeschner asked the board Monday on a second reading to approve a $2.1 million job funds recommendation, but the board voted 4-1 to table the discussion and include it as part of talks about cuts from the general fund.

Christensen voted against, and Kraft and Valentine left the meeting prior to the vote.

Daeschner said they will have to apply for federal funds and he worries that the government may withdraw that money if they do not request it soon. Gilkey said the government could require them to return that money even if they have already spent it.

The job funds include money for full-day kindergarten, new instruction coaches at the high school level and counselors. The largest chunk, $824,000, will cover Teacher Step Increases that are part of the teachers’ negotiated agreement. Some of the board members questioned whether all of that increased spending is necessary with the budget cuts, but Daeschner said those are priorities for him.

The board plans to schedule a public meeting to discuss the budget before the March 8 regular meeting.