The Quiet Force Behind GMSD's Accounting System

If you've ever submitted a purchase order, received a reimbursement, received your payroll, or wondered how a school district keeps track of millions of dollars... chances are you've benefited from Latoya Cohen's work.

You just may not have realized it.

Behind the scenes in Germantown Municipal School District's Finance Department, Cohen has become the person everyone calls when Skyward has a question. Or maybe that's backwards. Around the office, the joke is that Skyward sometimes needs Latoya.

As GMSD transitions from Skyward SMS 2.0 to the next generation Qmlativ platform, Cohen has quietly become one of the region’s foremost experts, not by attending countless trainings, but by doing something much simpler: opening the modules, watching the videos, clicking the buttons, solving the problems, and refusing to quit until she understands how everything works.

"She's never had formal training," Payroll Specialist Kim Welsh said with a laugh. "She watched the videos and put it all together."  That curiosity and verve has paid dividends for the district.

Latoya introduced automated bank reconciliations that replaced a manual process. She implemented Skyward's Fixed Asset module, moving the district away from separate tracking systems. She aligned position control with budgeting so Finance and Human Resources could work from the same information. She even identified a critical issue during GMSD's Qmlativ migration involving Tennessee's restricted accounting requirements, helping prevent accounting challenges before the platform was implemented statewide.

"She figures out all the little nooks and crannies," said Accounts Payable Specialist Debbie Davis. "When there's a problem, she finds the solution."

Those solutions don't stay in her office.

Instead, Latoya turns them into screenshots, guides, walkthroughs, and conversations. She teaches coworkers how the system works so they understand not just what button to click, but why they're clicking it.

"She gives you confidence," Welsh said. For years, she relied on service calls to complete a specific payroll process. This year, however, Latoya took the time to explain not just what to do, but why it worked. "Latoya helped me understand the process," Welsh said. "Next year, I'll be able to do it on my own."

That may be her greatest strength.

There's a difference between fixing someone's problem and teaching someone to solve it themselves. Once Latoya learns something, she makes sure others can learn it, too.

Chief Financial Officer Stuart Reckord said it didn't take long to recognize what made Latoya different. While many people stop when they hit a roadblock, Latoya treats it like a puzzle.

"Nothing is too big of a problem for her," he said. "She's a problem solver."

If she doesn't know the answer, she'll read the documentation, watch the training videos, test different approaches, and keep digging until she understands not only how something works, but why it works. That persistence has become one of GMSD's greatest assets as the district navigates its migration to Qmlativ.

Most mornings, you'll find Latoya doing exactly what she does best: opening another module, solving another puzzle, and making sure the district's financial systems work just a little bit better than they did yesterday.

Latoya’s expertise has also stretched beyond Germantown. As one of Tennessee's early districts migrating to Qmlativ, GMSD has become a resource for neighboring school systems beginning their own transitions. Latoya has visited districts, answered questions, shared lessons learned, and become someone others call when they need help navigating the new platform.

In Debbie Davis' words, "Sometimes I think she's teaching the Skyward people about Skyward."

It's the kind of compliment that makes Latoya smile and quickly change the subject, because recognition isn't something she seeks.

Instead, she finds satisfaction in helping someone else solve a problem. It's one of the many reasons Germantown Municipal School District proudly nominated her for Skyward's 2027 Leader in Excellence Award.

"I like seeing the outcome," Latoya said. "Sometimes people get frustrated working through things. Being able to help solve the problem means it's something they don't have to worry about anymore."

That quiet approach has earned enormous respect throughout all of our departments in GMSD.