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Computer virus may prompt audit

JANESVILLE — The computer virus that has plagued the Janesville School District's computers has been snuffed out, but problems linger, and questions remain.

The school board Tuesday night heard a report on progress.

Board member Lori Stottler, who apparently met with district officials earlier, said at a committee meeting earlier Tuesday that she was not happy with how long the computers have been malfunctioning and she is not satisfied with the answers she was given about the origins of the problem.

Stottler suggested the board hold a meeting closed to the public to discuss personnel-related questions.

Board member Kevin Murray said staff members need the tools to do their jobs, and the public needs to know that the school board knows what's going on, "so I think we've lost a little confidence there on those two fronts."

Stottler said it would be hard to know how much educational value was lost while the system was malfunctioning.

A district this large should not have this great of a computer outage, Stottler said.

One lingering problem is with computers that won't connect to printers, although many such printer links have been re-established, said Doug Bunton, director of business services.

"I think, rightfully, people should be frustrated, without a doubt," Bunton told a board committee. "I fully empathize with that."

The district has employed a consultant, Elert & Associates, as well as temporary workers in its effort to repair the virus-damaged system.

The virus struck in late September, cutting off many teachers and students from their stored files and programs. Access to computer software applications also was cut off. District and outside workers have been restoring the system gradually.

Bunton said that the district had tried to get by on a "minimalist" budget for its computer system since it was established in the late 1990s.

"We could have spent a ton more" to keep the system up to date, Bunton said.

Board President DuWayne Severson suggested that the school board—although not necessarily current members—could be "somewhat culpable" for the problem because computer system maintenance was under funded.

The district avoided many virus attacks over the years because it didn't buy Microsoft products, Bunton said, but as Microsoft applications became more prevalent, the district didn't keep up with security needs.

After immediate needs are taken care of, Bunton said he would propose an audit of the system to shore up any shortcomings.

"We need to look at software. We need to look at equipment. We need to look at staffing," Bunton said.

Costs for the ongoing repairs and for new equipment were not mentioned.

Murray said the district would emerge from these troubles with a much stronger computer system.