How a Colorado School District Manages 37,000+ Bookings With Mazévo

Note: This case study is based on the experience of a verified Mazévo customer who requested anonymity due to district policy.

For a large K-12 district in Colorado, managing community use scheduling for its facilities is a massive undertaking. Spanning hundreds of square miles, the district includes several dozen schools and serves over 30,000 students. The responsibility for coordinating rentals for its more than 2,500 available rooms and spaces, which amounted to over 37,000 bookings last year, falls to the Community Use Office, a small but mighty team of just two people.

Before implementing Mazévo, this team was struggling under the weight of an obsolete scheduling system and inefficient processes.

 TL;DR Key Takeaways:

• One of the largest public school systems in the Rocky Mountain region was using an outdated and unsupported legacy system that posed a security risk. Its two-person Community Use Office relied on it and a labor-intensive, paper-based process for rentals and billing.  
• The district implemented Mazévo, an advanced, cloud-based scheduling system chosen because it was "the most complete system that would work for our needs."
• Mazévo enables the district to benefit from event scheduling automation, including approval workflows.
• Many manual tasks, like printing reports, have been reduced from up to 20 times a day to just once every week or two.
• Since the switch, the district’s customer base has doubled, but its two-person scheduling team has handled this tremendous growth with ease.

The Challenge: An Outdated System Posed a Security Risk

The district’s previous scheduling system (EMS) was a legacy software package that was no longer adequately supported, creating both operational challenges and security risks. Consequently, the need to replace EMS software with a new solution was a top priority. In addition, the system was hosted on-site, and the district wanted to move to a more modern, cloud-based solution that was easier to maintain and use.

The operational workflow was just as problematic. The rental process for community members was entirely paper-based, requiring the community use manager to print documents 15 to 20 times every day. Billing and payment tracking were manual and labor-intensive.

Additionally, approvals were handled through disorganized email chains, with no automated workflow to ensure requests were seen and approved by the right people in a timely manner. This cumbersome process also made training difficult, a significant issue in a large district with frequent staff turnover.

The Solution: A Truly “Complete System"

Recognizing the need for a major change, the district initiated a formal RFI and RFP process to find a new school facility rental software partner. After a thorough review, they selected Mazévo. According to our contact, “It was the most complete system that would work for our needs.”

The district required a secure, cloud-based platform with powerful automation that could be configured to meet the district’s complex needs, and Mazévo delivered. To ensure a smooth transition, they implemented Mazévo using a careful, phased approach.

• Phase 1: Setting up for external users. The team first rolled out Mazévo’s online request portal to external community members, immediately digitizing the application process.
• Phase 2: Providing access to district users. Next, they brought internal school staff onto the platform, centralizing all event requests into a single system.
• Phase 3: Enabling automated approvals. Finally, they activated Mazévo’s built-in approval workflow, which automatically routes requests to the appropriate building managers for sign-off before returning to the Community Use Office. They tested this final phase with a small pilot group of schools to perfect the process before the district-wide launch.

In a unique approach driven by safety concerns, the district opted not to display the availability of public spaces. Instead, requesters submit their event details and desired building, and the scheduling office assigns the best available space. This gives the district complete control over facility use, allowing the team to ensure that each group is placed in a space that perfectly fits its needs.

The Results: Double the Customers, None of the Paper

Since implementing Mazévo’s K-12 scheduling software, the district’s community use program has undergone a transformation. Its customer base has doubled, a testament to how easy it is for community members to submit online requests. This explosive growth would have been impossible for a two-person team to handle with the old system.

The impact Mazévo has had on the district’s daily operations has been significant.

• Efficiency has soared. The move to a fully electronic system has dramatically reduced phone calls and paperwork. The community use manager now uses the printer just once every week or two—down from 15-20 times a day.
• Onboarding is simplified. With a well-documented and intuitive process, training new employees on the scheduling system is smoother and faster.
• Processes are streamlined. The district even used the transition as an opportunity to improve building access management by installing centralized key boxes, simplifying another complex task for the office.

For other districts considering a similar change, our contact offers some advice. “Have patience with the change. There’s no quick fix,” he says. “Take time to learn how the system works, and once you do, everything else is pretty easy.” He also recommends districts “limit who can make changes to events. It simplifies training and keeps things consistent.”

Does Your School District Need a Better Scheduling Solution?

If your school district is struggling with an outdated scheduling system, manual workflows, and limited staff, we can assist you. This Mazévo case study is a prime example of how we help organizations automate their processes and scale their operations.

Schedule a demo today to see our scheduling solution in action, handling your real-world scenarios.