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The Special School District of St. Louis County Purchases a License to the NCS4School Business Solution

District Sought Comprehensive, Web-based Solution to Integrate Finance, Procurement, and Human Resources Functions

Mesa, AZ - May 31, 2002 - NCS Learn, a business of NCS Pearson, today announced that the Special School District (SSD) of St. Louis County, Mo. has purchased a license to the company's new NCS4School™ Business solution. This license marks the first implementation of NCS4School Business, a comprehensive, fully integrated suite of online applications designed for the K-12 business office announced last month.

Comprised of three application suites - Finance, Procurement, and Human Resources - the Web-based NCS4School Business solution will simplify data-driven decision-making in these areas across the District, which provides special and technical education services to students in St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis.

According to Rich Carver, chief financial officer of the SSD, NCS4School Business will allow the district to integrate payroll and human resources, and help them streamline a previously cumbersome budgeting process.

"We conducted a search for new software because our financial software was outdated. There were needs it wasn't meeting, particularly in payroll and human resources," said Carver. "NCS4School Business is significantly better than other products designed for school districts, both in terms of the capabilities of the system and the flexibility. It's a superior product."

"Because NCS4School Business will provide real-time access to data across the district, it will greatly increase operational efficiency," said Jeanne Moore, director of procurement for SSD. "Our staff is located in numerous facilities throughout St. Louis County. NCS4School Business will help our staff by saving time in getting information needed to conduct district business."

The purchase includes software, professional services, technical services and support. Installation and training of the Finance module are complete; implementation of all three modules is currently underway.

NCS4School Business is part of the family of NCS4School Internet Solutions, a complete, online education management solution for the K-12 market, announced last year. NCS4School is designed to unify administrative and instructional functions and data on a common foundation of Web portal technology, accessible by teachers, students, parents, and district management.

About the Special School District of St. Louis County

The Special School District of St. Louis County, Mo., provides special education services for all St. Louis County students with disabilities from ages 3-21, and technical education at two technical high schools to students - the majority of whom are general education students - in St. Louis County and St. Louis City.

More than 27,000 students with disabilities receive special education services from SSD, with approximately 95 percent receiving those services in their local school district from an SSD staff member. SSD also annually performs more than 100,000 screenings and evaluations for area students.

Technical education is offered in more than 30 areas of concentration. Programs at the technical high schools are open to all 10th-12th-grade students from the 23 public school districts in St. Louis County, as well as the St. Louis Public School District. Current enrollment is about 1,800 students. In addition, several satellite programs are in place at business, community and school locations throughout the metropolitan area.

About NCS Learn

NCS Learn is a leader in offering a total education solution - proven, comprehensive curriculum, assessment, and data management systems - via software or online delivery.

NCS Learn is a business of NCS Pearson, a global provider of applications, services and technologies for education, testing, assessment, government and complex data management. NCS Pearson is part of Pearson Education, the world's largest integrated education company.

NCS Learn provides some of the most widely used and popular software products in the education world: the versatile SASIxp™ cross-platform school administration and student information system; the CIMS® G/T data management system; the state-of-the-art NCS ABACUSxp™ instructional management system; and the SuccessMaker® Enterprise, and NovaNET comprehensive courseware systems used by more than five million students worldwide.