School Finance Data System

The New Hampshire Department of Education's Division of Education Analytics & Resources, Bureau of School Finance, has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking vendor solutions to modernize the state's school finance data system. This procurement addresses the need to upgrade and replace the current manual process that relies on annual DOE25 Excel spreadsheet submissions from all public school districts and charter schools across New Hampshire. Vendors are invited to provide information on systems capable of addressing one or more functional areas: data collection, data warehousing, and data publishing. The DOE25 is a 25-page workbook containing balance sheet information, detailed revenue and expenditures, and supplemental schedules for the previous financial year. Key objectives include eliminating manual data entry errors, ensuring consistent coding, reducing accounting errors, and improving data granularity and interfacing capability to support local tax rate setting, state-level consolidated analysis and legislative reporting, and federal reporting requirements to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Education. The RFI responses are due electronically to Beth Gregory, FY23 SLDS Project Manager, at beth.j.gregory@doe.nh.gov no later than 4:00 PM on Friday, March 13, 2026. Vendors should demonstrate expertise in data security, compatibility with existing NHED systems including iNHDEX and the Grant Management System, user access controls, validation capabilities, reporting functionality, and data migration options.

The RFI does not commit the State to publish a subsequent RFP or award a contract, and any future RFP will be open to all qualified vendors regardless of RFI participation. No set-aside designations or restrictions on organization types have been specified in the available documentation. The State recognizes that implementation of a Uniform Chart of Accounts using a 34-digit account code string would impose significant cost and labor burdens on school districts, particularly those with incompatible software or municipal structures; therefore, vendors are encouraged to propose solutions that either avoid UCOA requirements or facilitate easier implementation. The current school finance data system is based on the NH Accounting Handbook and DOE25, both published 25 years ago, indicating the need for substantial modernization. No incumbent vendors, specific award values, or budget ranges have been identified in the RFI documentation. The State shall not be held liable for vendor costs incurred in preparing RFI responses.