Marlboro addresses comptroller’s concerns

By Mark Reynolds
Posted 11/9/22

Last week the Marlboro School Board approved the State Comptroller’s corrective action plan concerning technology user accounts in the district.

In a letter addressed to the Superintendent …

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Marlboro addresses comptroller’s concerns

Posted

Last week the Marlboro School Board approved the State Comptroller’s corrective action plan concerning technology user accounts in the district.

In a letter addressed to the Superintendent Mike Rydell and the Central Administration, Mike Bakatsias, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel & Technology, highlighted two key recommendations made by the Comptroller that the district needs to address: Develop written procedures for managing access and restrict the use of shared network user accounts.

Bakatsias said as a result of the Comptroller’s findings, Marlboro began using One Synch to help manage their user accounts.

“The configured product looks at all active employees in our financial management system and creates or inactivates accounts, in Active Directory based upon the employment status of each employee. The system uses this “active” or “inactive” employment status and additionally will flag any accounts that are not specifically connected to a user. Therefore, shared or generic network accounts are flagged.”

Bakatsias wrote that two times a year technology services will review each school account in the Active Directory against the Personnel Master File. This will identify and suspend any users who are not currently employed by the district.

Bakatsias noted that in early July the financial system is “rolled” over into a new school year. Once this is done, an account audit will be conducted by the Office of Technology Services and the Personnel Office, resulting in inactive employees being immediately identified as “inactivated.”

Bakatsias noted that in September there are always adjustments made to the hiring of personnel that is based on new positions, leaves, long-term absences and student teaching assignments, resulting in the school being fully staffed by the end of September. This will trigger a new audit in the first half of October that is similar to the one conducted in July – with accounts reviewed and any found to be assigned to a former employee will be inactivated. This also includes inactivating any generic accounts used for IT testing. They would be reactivated only when needed and put back to inactive status when testing is completed.

Bakatsias wrote that, “If the processes outlined above meet the Comptroller’s expectations, these procedures will be added to all school district plans to include but not limited to the District Technology Plan and the District Data Security Plan.”