Harris Computer Systems has acquired California's Schoolhouse Software Inc. and its subsidiary KnowledgeCore Software Inc.

Ottawa-based Harris, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toronto's Constellation Software Inc., announced Wednesday that it has completed the purchase of the school food service software maker and sister company KnowledgeCore, which supplies student relationship management solutions for the adult and vocational education market. Both Schoolhouse and KnowledgeCore are based in Sacramento, Calif.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"This acquisition represents a continuation of our strategy to expand our product offering of software solutions for school districts," stated Jerry Canada, Harris School Solutions executive vice-president. "The addition of both the Schoolhouse and KnowledgeCore customer bases allows Harris to immediately gain a presence in a geographic area where we intend to expand."

As a result of the deal, all Schoolhouse and KnowledgeCore customers and staff will become part of Harris School Solutions, which is focused on delivering mission-critical systems to K-12 school districts in North America. Both acquired companies will continue to operate from their existing facilities in California.

Harris, which was named as one of Canada's 50 top-managed firms and as one of the OBJ 2006 Employers of Distinction, provides financial management and customer information systems software solutions.