Clay County School Board delegates multiple technology and maintenance purchases to executive committee after no quorum

At a Clay County School Board meeting when the board lacked a physical quorum, members present agreed to defer formal votes and ask the district’s executive committee to approve several purchases and repairs that staff said are time-sensitive.

The board considered three agenda items that staff said require prompt action: replacement telephone systems for Salina K-8 and Clay County High School, rip-rap (rock-lined) repairs for a drainage channel at Clay County High School, and a one-year renewal of the Saba SuccessMaker reading intervention license for K–8. Board members also reviewed quotes for Chromebooks and teacher desktop computers and discussed splitting desktop purchases between vendors to reduce cost.

Why it matters: District staff said some vendor quotes carry short windows of pricing — one staff member warned “their pricing will go up due to tariffs being imposed” if orders are delayed — and the high-school drainage issue is tied to an existing Soil Conservation Service grant and could worsen if not addressed.

Most immediate decisions and vendors - Phone systems: Staff reported a single bid for each school from Twin Lakes. With no objections from members present, the board asked the executive committee to move forward with the Twin Lakes bids rather than wait for a full quorum. - Rip-rap drainage work at Clay County High School: Two bids were received; staff said both met the soil-conservation specifications and recommended awarding to the lower, local bidder. The board asked the executive committee to approve the lowest compliant bid. - Saba SuccessMaker renewal: Miss Misty, who addressed the item, described the product as “the online program that our K through 8 students use during their intervention period” and said the subscription expires on the 30th of this month. The board asked the executive committee to approve renewal to avoid a coverage gap. - Chromebooks and desktops: Staff recommended purchasing approximately 120 Chromebooks and about 45 teacher desktops based on budgeted amounts and current quotes. Staff proposed splitting desktop components to save money — buying desktop towers from Howard and monitors from CDW — and using Travera and Howard as primary Chromebook/desktop vendors. The board directed the executive committee to approve purchases using those vendor recommendations.

What was not decided: Because the meeting did not reach a legal quorum, members present repeatedly noted they could not take formal votes at the meeting. Instead, they asked that the executive committee document and approve the awards and that staff circulate the executive-committee decisions to board members when available.

Details staff provided - Chromebooks: Staff said Chromebooks typically last about four years and that the district had good results after switching to Lenovo models; hardware failures were rare compared with damage from everyday use. - Desktops: Staff said teacher desktops are about five to six years old and approaching end of life; replacing all at once would be undesirable, so staff proposed phased replacement. - Drainage/rip-rap: Work is tied to a grant coordinated with the Clay County Soil Conservation Service; staff said both bidders met the conservation service specifications but the local bidder’s price was “considerably cheaper.”

Next steps and oversight Staff will submit award paperwork and executive-committee approvals to the full board for the record. If any procurement requires an urgent or unbudgeted expenditure beyond existing authority, staff said they will prepare the standard executive-order paperwork and circulate it to members for approval.

No formal dollar amounts or contract numbers were provided during the meeting; staff said some vendors warned prices would increase if quotes were not accepted within weeks. The executive committee will review and finalize awards and report back to the full board.