Making Every Dollar Count

Challenges Before Frontline	Benefits After Frontline
Manual, fragmented asset tracking led to lost devices and wasted hours.	Real-time visibility into asset location, status, and purchase details.
Inefficient, informal ticketing system caused lost or forgotten IT requests and duplicated efforts.	Faster, more reliable ticketing with mobile app — request capture and assignment happens instantly, reducing headaches.
Unnecessary purchases and inventory waste due to lack of inventory oversight.	Significant cost savings by avoiding duplicate or needless device purchases — $3,000 saved on one transaction alone.

A District Where Every Purchase Matters

Mannford Public Schools is located 20 minutes west of Tulsa, Oklahoma. With 1,800 students and 200 staff, every purchase counts. There’s pride here in getting the most from each dollar — a mindset that Bryan Golemon, a former teacher and coach turned IT Director, knows intimately. Stepping into his role three years ago, Bryan’s to-do list was both practical and personal: find tools that actually deliver, and make sure every piece of technology is used to the fullest. 

Manual Asset Management Leads to Wasted Time and Money

Bryan didn’t inherit a system; he inherited a patchwork assembled under the real-world pressures that every small district faces. IT requests landed in a shared email inbox, or were quickly jotted down on Post-It notes. “The ticketing system that we used was basically just an extra email for the teachers and students. They would email this one email address, and then it would get divvied out from there.” Like so many rural schools, asset records lived wherever they could: paper files, spreadsheets, or in the IT technician’s memory. Each was an attempt to keep up with constant demands. 

Asset distribution became a logistical challenge, especially as the district grew and technology needs changed. “That was my first gig giving out assets. That’s when I thought, ‘I have to figure out an easier way to track this stuff.’” Even with everyone doing their best, devices sometimes went missing: forgotten in old offices, moved with staff, or left behind when people retired. “When a teacher would leave, our teachers had this notion that if they moved classrooms, they had to take everything with them.” Communication with principals often meant working with incomplete information, simply because so much was handled informally. “Principals don’t always tell you, ‘I gave that device to that teacher.’ And then next thing you know, two or three people down the row, you have no clue where the laptop is.” 

Bryan’s typical day often started with a search for answers, not because people weren’t trying, but because the old system made it hard to know who had what, or where it was. “I walk into a principal’s office and there are four Chromebooks on the counter, and I’m like, ‘Whose are these?’ ‘We don’t know. They were just turned in to us.’ Then you have to go back and find the old sheet and see that it was checked out to the teacher who retired two years ago.” 

The lack of real-time visibility is a challenge most districts know well. “That is where the problem was: ‘Okay, where does this Chromebook go? It’s supposed to go into this cart. This cart’s supposed to be in that room.’ And just being able to track that better.” 

All this added up to wasted hours and lost assets. The tools simply weren’t built for the complexity and pace of today’s K-12 environment. Bryan’s first big job was disposing of stacks of old equipment the district had accumulated over the years. “I filled up a whole 18-foot-long, 12-foot-high U-Haul trailer from top to bottom with old towers and old laptops.” Teachers, too, were left guessing what belonged where, and what should move when rooms changed. “You’d be walking around: ‘Hey, five of my Chromebooks should be in this room.’ And the teacher would say: ‘I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to take them.’” 

Bryan could see that the district needed something more: a clear, reliable way to track every device and a support system that worked as hard as he did for staff and students alike. 

Looking for Affordable, All-in-One Solution

When frustration peaks, innovation starts. Bryan tried building his own ticketing system. He experimented with a general-purpose database system, a tool he now calls “a total monster in itself.” But when he heard about Asset Management and Help Desk Management from Frontline, he could see the value. “Every dollar we spend, we make sure it is worth it, and worth our time.” That meant no hidden modules or paying for tools they’d never touch. “That’s what I’ve loved about Frontline: not only the fact that we were able to afford it, but that it’s not one of those programs where I’m only using a third of it. I’m using the whole thing from top to bottom.” 

Bryan brought the district leadership into the process, showing firsthand how the system could solve everyday frustrations. He made it clear just how much time and energy was lost to the old way and how much everyone stood to gain. He recalls, “The support line rang 4 times in 5 minutes when I was in a meeting with my Superintendent. I said, ‘This is why I want Help Desk.’ And he said, ‘I get it now.’” 

Implementation: Supported Rollout, Step by Step

Mannford’s rollout began in March. With Frontline, implementation was a series of weekly, supported steps rather than a mad dash. “[Frontline consultant] Deedee was awesome, walking me through week by week. That’s what impressed me the most. Every week, she would meet with me and say, ‘Hey, how about you try this next time?’ She really helped me step by step.” 

All the old asset lists, spreadsheets, and sticky notes were imported and reconciled. Legacy devices surfaced. The team was a little ahead of schedule, and Deedee’s advice (move carefully, do it right) kept things steady. 

Support never missed a beat. “Anytime I had a problem, I could email her. If the problem was an easy fix, she would let me know, or if it was a talking point we needed to discuss at our next meeting, she would jot it down. At our next meeting, she would have a list of stuff for us to walk through and fix.” Bryan’s verdict? “It was easy. When I had a problem, I was able to get it fixed right away or learn the steps to fix it, or she would say, ‘Give us a day, we’ll get back with you.’ That’s the biggest thing: the process was, bar none for me, the easiest thing I’ve had to do since I’ve done this job, to implement this.” 

Results & Impact: From Guesswork to Accountability and Savings

Frontline’s impact was immediate and tangible. The fog lifted. Bryan could finally see what was where, building by building, room by room. “That’s what Frontline has done for me. It’s simplified it all, put it all into one place.” 

The power of visibility changed everything: “I can tell you exactly where something goes, how much it costs, where we bought it, what fund we bought it from, how long it’s going to last. It’s just all there.”

Now, when a principal calls, Bryan doesn’t have to guess. “Just yesterday, one of the principals called me and said, ‘I’m hiring three new teachers. What do they need?’ I asked, ‘What room are they going in?’ She told me the room, and I pulled it up and saw that they’ve already got a smart TV, they’ve already got a laptop.” 

With Frontline, those calls don’t end in unnecessary purchases like they used to. “She could call me and say, ‘I’m hiring a first grade, a third grade, and a fifth grade teacher. What do they have in those rooms?’ I can pull it up and say, ‘Here’s exactly what they have in those rooms.’” 

With the click of a button, Bryan can prevent waste. “That has saved us money because she was about to buy three brand new laptops. I said, ‘No, you don’t have to. You have it all right there. We just have to find it.’ She said, ‘Oh, thank God. That was $3,000 I do not have right now.’” 

Old habits like guesswork, duplicate purchases, and hoarding cords began to fade. “One of the problems in the past was that we had tons of junk. Someone would need one cord and they would buy five, because ‘You never know when you are going to need the other four.’ Then you don’t have a record of it…. It’s easier for me now, being able to look at all that, and there’s a one-stop place for it.” 

Productivity and Workflow Gains

The system’s mobile app turned Bryan’s phone into a scanner, a ticketing tool, and a productivity booster. “Now that I can take my phone and scan it and show them exactly who it was supposed to go to, and they say, ‘Okay.’ And then they can divvy it out to the next person. It is much easier doing that.” 

He can create tickets in the hallway, even when he’s rushing to the next meeting. Adding new devices is now lightning fast. In the past, tagging and assigning 240 new Chromebooks would take all summer. Now, it takes one day. 

The unexpected benefit? Actual relief. “Three Chromebooks came in yesterday, and in the past, I would have just set them to the side. But I had 30 minutes before I left for the day, and I got them done and got out of here 20 minutes early.” That means fewer headaches. “It was already paid for in Tylenol for me.” 

Better Communication and Collaboration

Help Desk Management brought order to ticket chaos, with no more requests forgotten or lost in emails. “As I’m walking down the hallway, I often hear, ‘Hey, do you have a minute?’ And I would think, ‘By the time I walk off, I’m going to forget what you said. Send me an email.’ Now, that I have the app, I just pull it up: ‘All right, I’ll make myself a ticket,’ and it’s already there when I get back to my office.” 

It also helps with communication between Bryan and staff members. “I have a summer helper that helps me with Chromebooks and stuff like that. Before I had Help Desk, there was a constant email thread between us back and forth. You know how that can get. You miss an email or something happens. Now I’m able to say, ‘Room 25 needs this,’ and my helper can pull up the ticket and I assign it to him. It sends him an email and he sees that I submitted a ticket, and we’re able to talk back and forth on that ticket and have a record of it.” 

Real Relief, Real Progress

Beneath all the software, asset tags, and workflows sits a very human story: one that shifted from quiet frustration to a kind of calm, confident progress. 

What stands out most isn’t just the technology, but the support and sense of partnership that grew up around it. The relationship with Frontline turned what could have been an overwhelming project into something manageable, even enjoyable. 

And as for staff buy-in? That didn’t need pep talks or mandates. Once people saw the system working, the case made itself. “I started using [Frontline], and [my Superintendent] asked, ‘Why didn’t we do this sooner?’” 

Lessons Learned: Change Requires Support, Simplicity, and Trust

What worked for Mannford wasn’t just new technology; it was the methodical, supported rollout. By starting with IT, building trust, and scaling only when ready, Bryan avoided overwhelming anyone. He discovered the value of having a proactive, accessible vendor. 

Next Steps: Continuous Improvement and Expansion

With IT success proven, Mannford is already considering bringing the Help Desk to their transportation department. Ongoing asset tagging and more rigorous accessory tracking are underway. The district has a clear path for further collaboration across departments. 

From Guesswork to Confidence

Mannford Public Schools now stands as proof that even small districts, facing tight budgets and big logistical headaches, can leap forward. With every device tracked, every request answered, and every dollar justified, Bryan and his team have earned not just relief, but pride. “Just been great to see stuff like that starting to work out.”