LAUSD COMPUTER SYSTEM FLOPS; TECHNOLOGY DIVISION HAS MAJOR PROBLEMS, THOMPSON SAYS.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

Outgoing Los Angeles schools Superintendent Sid Thompson said Wednesday that the district has major problems with its $45 million administrative computer system and acknowledged it won't be fully operational by its June 30 deadline.

Technology to track vital student and financial information will not be in place, despite assurances from the department's head, said Thompson, who retires June 30.

``We're just not there, and it's not clear when we will be,'' he said. ``I have great concerns.''

In an interview, Thompson said the district's Information Technology Division, which oversees the computer system, lacks a comprehensive technology plan and is hamstrung by inadequate equipment and a poorly trained staff.

``We find ourselves with a very hazy system - we're not sure what we're supposed to be getting,'' Thompson said.

His comments reflect a highly critical new audit that called the ITD ``an organization in turmoil.'' Assistant Superintendent John Nagata, who heads the division, did not return repeated phone calls.

No one is quite clear on how many millions it will take to make needed computer upgrades and conduct employee training. A 1995 audit estimated as little as $5.2 million, while district officials guessed at the time it would cost more than $16 million.

There are also rumblings among district officials that it might be easier to scrap the $45 million computer - which might be outdated already - and begin again.

The Information Technology Division is responsible for maintaining the district's mainframe computer, which grinds through the thousands of budget documents, payroll information and reports generated by the nation's second-largest school district. It also oversees classroom technology, including linking personal computer networks at the district's schools.

Since 1993, at least four independent audits have uncovered wide-ranging problems within the ITD.

A new audit by Arthur Andersen & Co., to be presented to the district's audit committee today, found poor management, no comprehensive plan in place and no way to keep up with technological advances.

Problems are exacerbated by political infighting and the district's ``distaste or inability'' to hold senior managers accountable, the audit found.

The problems have ``nearly stopped the development and implementation of meaningful technology solutions within the district,'' the audit concluded.

The most recent audit cost $300,000 and focused solely on the ITD. Previous audits have a combined price tag of about $640,000 and were commissioned to take a wider look at district departments.

Thompson said he will ask Nagata to come up with definitive time lines on a number of issues, including when the system linkup will be complete and a comprehensive technology plan completed.

``All we have is bits and pieces,'' he said. ``I hope to have commitments from him by the end of June about when these things will happen - and it will be in writing.

``I've had some major concerns about ITD management from the beginning. That's why I asked for the study.''

Board of Education member David Tokofsky, who sits on the audit committee, agreed there were serious problems within the technology department but said the superintendent is ``scapegoating'' Nagata.

``To focus all criticism in one area is to miss the audit's conclusion that this is a systemic problem with senior management,'' he said. ``In the end, the audit is a condemnation of Sid Thompson himself.''

Tokofsky pointed out that last year Thompson gave all senior managers A's in a closed-door review with the board.

``I wish that this was a beginning of accountability, but I don't see it that way,'' he said. ``I see this as an end, an effort to try to make the problem go away.''