(Phoenix, Ariz., May, 2017) – Dramatic cuts to the FY2018 budget for the Arizona Department of Education’s (ADE) information technology system have resulted in the departure of the department’s Chief Information Officer (CIO), Diane Douglas, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction announced today.
Mark Masterson, ADE CIO, will leave the department to pursue other opportunities. Masterson spearheaded ADE’s transition to the state’s new student data system. During his tenure, the ADE technology team was named one of CIO magazine’s “Top 100 Most Innovative IT Organizations in 2015.”
“I’m not the type of person to just maintain the current system in its unfinished state,” Masterson said. “It looks like the state does not plan to finish AzEDS or begin the replacement of APOR and CHAR, so there is little to keep me here.”
Mark Masterson has given notice he will be departing August 1, 2017 to insure a smooth transition. ADE Chief Technology Officer Satish Pattisapu, one of the leaders of this renowned team, has been named CIO.
Pattisapu has supervised ADE IT activities including software development and quality assurance since 2011.
“We are extremely fortunate to have a leader like Satish who can immediately step in to oversee all of our continuing IT efforts,” Superintendent Douglas said. “Under his leadership, I am confident that our IT team will continue to perform despite the limited resources that are available.”
Douglas has been a strong supporter of technology development and data security in Arizona education since taking office.
“Mark Masterson has done an incredible job at replacing SAIS with AzEDS and it is extremely unfortunate that we are losing him,” stated the Superintendent.
The ADE IT system distributes more than $5 billion of state aid to Arizona schools. In FY2017 ADE received a one-time budget allocation of $7.3 million in dedicated IT funding. In the FY2018 budget, ADE will receive the same amount which will hamper efforts to update antiquated school payment systems. The Department requested $17.6 million to maintain and complete its IT projects.
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