Pender County Board approves teacher pay letter, vendor contracts and capital purchases

The Pender County Board of Education on a single evening approved a letter urging state legislators to increase teacher pay and voted to award several vendor contracts and capital purchases, including on‑call architectural services, commissioning services for the new K–8 and a pre‑K modular classroom for South Topsail Elementary.

The actions matter because they commit district funds and use bond, E‑Rate and routine procurement processes to support construction, technology and student services, while the pay letter expresses the board's legislative priorities to state lawmakers.

Board members voted to approve the text of a letter supporting teacher pay raises to be sent to state leaders, including Senate leader Phil Berger and Speaker Dustin H. Clary (as identified by the board). Board member Hall moved approval and was seconded by board member Spivey; the motion passed. The board instructed staff to send the letter to the four named legislators referenced during the discussion.

On procurement and facilities: the board approved LS3P for on‑call architectural services after a qualifications review; the district will use LS3P for smaller design tasks subject to state law limits that require re‑advertising if a project's estimated fee exceeds $50,000. The motion to approve LS3P was moved and seconded on the floor and passed.

The board also approved commissioning services for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing scope of the new K–8 school and accepted a contract with Hansen for $210,366. Board members were told the cost is already included in bond soft costs; the motion passed after discussion.

For the new South Topsail Elementary pre‑K modular building, the board accepted Modular Technologies' low bid of $532,680. The vote passed with one recorded "no" and otherwise carried.

The board voted to add a fourth option to the community naming survey for the new K–8 school (to eliminate freeform write‑ins and present voters with four named choices); the motion passed. The board also approved an E‑Rate‑eligible Cat‑6 cabling upgrade project that uses $113,000 in E‑Rate funds; the district will initially cover a local share (listed as $65,000 in the staff recommendation) pending state reimbursement of approximately $28,000. The single bid was procured under a state contract and staff said they would use local funds only if necessary.

Other procedural matters approved included the consent agenda and the HR report following a closed session.

Votes at a glance

- Letter supporting teacher pay raises (Agenda 9.1): motioned by Mr. Hall; seconded by Mr. Spivey; outcome: approved; recipients: state legislative leaders as enumerated on the record; notes: board authorized sending the letter to four legislators referenced in the discussion.

- On‑call architectural services (Agenda 9.2): award to LS3P (statement of qualifications process); motion and second recorded on the floor; outcome: approved; notes: firms responding included Osterland, Davis Kane, Loudermill, Becker Morgan and LS3P; legal threshold: design fees over $50,000 require separate procurement.

- Commissioning services, new K–8 (Agenda 9.3): award to Hansen; contract amount $210,366; motion and second recorded on the floor; outcome: approved; funding: bond soft costs (programmed), notes: scope limited to MEP commissioning; other envelope/roof scope assigned to a separate engineer.

- Naming survey (Agenda 9.4): motion to add a fourth, board‑approved option to the K–8 naming survey (to eliminate write‑ins and permit separate elementary/middle names if desired); moved by Mr. Spivey, seconded by Mr. Reeves; outcome: approved.

- Pre‑K modular purchase, South Topsail Elementary (Agenda 9.5): low bid Modular Technologies $532,680; motion moved and seconded; outcome: approved (vote included 1 "no").

- MDF/IDF Cat‑6 cabling upgrade (Agenda 9.6): recommendation to award work under state contract with E‑Rate funding covering approximately $113,000; local share $65,000 (staff said state reimbursement of ~$28,000 expected); motion moved by Ms. Hanson; seconded by Mr. Spopy; outcome: approved.

- Consent agenda: motion to approve (motion by Mr. Hall; seconded by Mr. Spivey); outcome: approved.

- HR report (post closed session): motion to approve; outcome: approved.

What board members said

Board members who spoke during the action agenda praised staff work on procurement and thanked county commissioners and staff for recent financial support. One member sought assurances that the commissioning and design work were already funded in the bond. Staff responded that commissioning fees were included in the bond soft costs and that smaller design fees would be procured if estimated fees exceed the $50,000 legal threshold.

Where the money comes from and next steps

Staff told the board the Hansen commissioning cost is covered by bond soft costs and that the on‑call architecture selection establishes a list for small projects; formal fee proposals will follow when specific projects are scoped. The E‑Rate cabling work is the final year of the district's current E‑Rate cycle; staff said they will use state contract pricing and expect state reimbursement for the district share. The pre‑K modular will be installed at South Topsail following the approved procurement.

Ending

The board completed the public action items and moved to closed session for personnel and student matters under cited North Carolina statutes; it returned and approved the HR report before adjourning.