Isle of Wight school board hears improved audit, votes to award HVAC contract and reappropriate surplus; parents press bus funding

The Isle of Wight County School Board on Jan. 16 received an auditor’s update that showed notable improvements in the school division’s financial reporting while a parent speaker urged immediate action on the district’s aging bus fleet and driver pay. The board also approved several action items, including awarding a contract for the Carrollton Elementary HVAC replacement and requesting county reappropriation of surplus funds for textbooks.

The auditor, Aaron Hawkins of Robinson Farmer Cox, told the board that this year’s audit required far fewer corrective adjustments than in fiscal 2023 and that the finance office had “a lot of great things to talk about.” He also highlighted one persistent problem: the Child Nutrition Cluster federal finding that was a repeat for fiscal 2023. “That is a repeat finding for this year,” Hawkins said, adding the division had taken corrective steps on other prior findings and that the annual school report filing issue had been addressed.

Why it matters: better financial reporting can improve county and state confidence and reduce follow-up audit work. But the repeat federal finding tied to the Child Nutrition Cluster could affect future federal compliance reviews and requires continued corrective action by nutrition and finance staff.

During public comment, parent and transportation advocate Tiffany Parker pressed the board on the age and readiness of the bus fleet. “Currently, 44% of our buses are over 15 years old, with mileage approaching or exceeding 300,000 miles,” Parker said, noting Virginia Department of Transportation guidance that buses at that mileage and age are often retired. She told the board the system will receive five new buses this year but that three older vehicles must be retired, yielding a net increase of two buses and leaving the fleet replacement cycle far too slow: “At this rate, it would take 15 years just to meet the number of buses truly needed,” she said. Parker also urged the board to press the Board of Supervisors to place bus purchases in the schools’ operating budget and asked for pay increases of about 8% for drivers to address recruitment and retention.

On facilities and procurement, the board voted unanimously to enter a contract with JRC Mechanical for the Carrollton Elementary HVAC replacement at $5,694,446, well under the original budget estimate of $7,336,731. School operations staff and project consultants asked the board to hold a portion of the budget as a construction contingency; staff recommended a standard contingency in the 5% range and noted anticipated change orders could run 1–2% ($85,000–$114,000 on this scope). The board also heard that architectural and engineering fees for the project totaled $465,824.

Votes at a glance

- Carrollton Elementary HVAC: Motion to award contract to JRC Mechanical for $5,694,446 — approved (roll call: Kolick Yes; Cunningham Yes; Perkins Yes; Wooster Yes; Marsh Yes). Staff noted the award was below budget by $1,642,285 and recommended a contingency be held until project completion.

- Reappropriation of surplus funds: Resolution requesting the county reappropriate $112,155 from FY24 surplus into the textbook fund — approved (unanimous roll call). The funds restore local contributions pulled from the textbook fund in FY23.

- Personnel report and additional FTE: The board approved the personnel report and a motion granting one additional full-time equivalent (FTE) for the remainder of the 2024–25 school year (motions approved, unanimous roll call). The board had discussed the items in closed session under Virginia code provisions.

What else the board discussed

- Audit detail and next steps: Hawkins told the board auditors did not need to make the material financial statement adjustments that were required in FY23, a sign of corrective action in the finance office. He said the Child Nutrition Cluster finding related to improper classification/approval on free and reduced meal applications remains a repeat finding from FY23 and will require follow-up and corrective work in FY25.

- Student safety and screening rollout: Assistant or security staff and school administrators reported that a weapons detection system trial at Windsor High School has reduced morning screening times from as much as 25–35 minutes initially to under five minutes at the bus-loop entrance and about 15 minutes at the front entrance. Board members and staff warned of remaining issues for Windsor, including no covered walkway for inclement weather and limited staffing to man screening during the school day. The board heard that staff plan to set up detection and train Smithfield High School staff with a target screening start date of Feb. 18 and that the division will provide staff training on Jan. 28.

- Health/medical director concept: Board members asked staff to open exploratory talks about whether the division should engage a medical director (a consulting physician) to review school medical policies and to advise on medical response protocols; the idea includes exploring coordination with the county’s operational medical director for Fire & EMS. No decision was made; staff will arrange a meeting with county medical and emergency services leaders and school health staff to report back.

What the board did not decide

Several policy-oriented proposals were discussed but not finalized, including a proposed board notification matrix (board-priority notification chart) that would specify when and how staff should notify board members about incidents. Board members and staff agreed to continue drafting language and to meet for follow-up: members stressed they want timely notice on severe incidents but also recognized staff must prioritize on-site mitigation and that exact time windows can be impractical in some emergencies.

Bottom line: The board approved major, budgeted capital work and routine personnel items, received an auditor’s largely positive report with one outstanding federal nutrition finding to resolve, and signaled follow-up on transportation funding and school medical coordination. Several operational proposals (notification protocol, medical director) will return for further study.

Ending: The board set a February budget calendar date for the superintendent’s fiscal 2026 recommendation and asked staff to return with additional details on procurement contingencies, the repeat federal nutrition finding corrective plan, and estimates for any added staffing needs tied to weapons screening and health services.