District seeks consent approvals for nutrition, substitute and IT contracts; corrects E-rate math on network purchase
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Summary
Superintendent recommended multiple renewals and sole-source IT purchases for the July 8 consent agenda, and staff corrected an earlier E-rate funding calculation that increased the district's out-of-pocket cost for network equipment.
District staff presented several procurement recommendations and an E-rate funding correction during the June 24 work session, asking the board to place renewals and purchases on the July 8 consent agenda.
Nutrition and substitutes: The superintendent recommended one-year renewals under existing IFB terms for food with Gold Star Foods (not to exceed $5,392,646), paper with Dade Imperial (not to exceed $428,000), milk with Pet Dairy (not to exceed $635,313) and produce with Royal Food Produce (not to exceed $225,000) for 2025'26. Staff said these are routine extensions under the original bid terms and represent the third one-year renewal for some vendors. The superintendent also recommended renewing the ESS Southeast LLC substitute-teacher contract for an estimated $2,800,000 (noting substitute expenses have risen as leave usage increased), and asked that renewal be placed on the July 8 consent agenda.
IT purchases and E-rate correction: Technology staff recommended three sole-source purchases: Lightspeed web filter including Lightspeed Alert with Human Review from Howard Technology Solutions for $81,000 (ITS funds); ClassLink suite (three years) from ClassLink Inc. for $161,109.66 (ITS funds) with a multi-year discount; and wireless access points and network monitoring tools from low bidder MXN of Woodstock, Georgia. For the MXN project, staff corrected an earlier E-rate calculation: the E-rate funded portion is $218,610.40, not the originally stated $273,638.51, because the district's remaining E-rate pool is shown as pre-discount amounts; as a result the district out-of-pocket cost increased to $327,446.54. The project total remained $546,056.94.
Nut graf: Staff said the sole-source purchases are renewals or continuation of existing products; technology staff asked the board to approve the purchases on the July 8 consent agenda. The MXN correction was presented as an honest accounting error; staff reported that approving this purchase would draw down roughly 99.98% of the district's five-year E-rate allotment for the cycle.
Board action and ending: The superintendent asked that these items be placed on the July 8 consent agenda; board members agreed. Staff noted the district will re-examine the ESS substitute contract after this fifth year of renewal.
