Tampa, Florida-based newspaper the Tampa Bay Times ran an article today examining the local school district’s adoption of Edsby.

Why did Hillsborough County Public Schools—with its more than 220,000 students and staff—move from Edline to Edsby for online grade books and parent engagement?

Hillsborough County Public Schools put the project up for bid and settled on Edsby, a cloud-based system from another vendor. The price is much lower, “reducing the cost of the gradebook program by 50 percent,” according to a recent memo by deputy superintendent Jeff Eakins.

And while Edsby doesn’t have all the features of Edline, the article points out, feature-for-feature parity isn’t the point.

Aptiris president Gary Falcon, in announcing the $179,000 Hillsborough contract, called Edsby “the most innovative and capable new product we’ve seen in the education space in a long time.”

Deputy Hillsborough superintendent Jeff Eakins, in a memo obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, wrote that the district was enthusiastic about its adoption of Edsby.

“Edsby will not only allow parents and students to see grades, homework assignments and upcoming activities, but it will also provide for simple two-way communication for teachers to answer questions and give positive feedback,” Eakins wrote.

Read the full Tampa Bay Times article here.