Board approves vendor, nursing contracts and contingency authority; other motions passed by show of hands

At the Aug. 4 meeting, the Lenoir County Board of Education voted on a series of administrative items including vendor selection for the E.B. Frank Middle School construction project, school-nursing service contracts, authorization for use of owner’s contingency funds on the construction project, policy revisions and surplus declarations.

Vendor selection for testing and inspections The board approved ECS (listed in the agenda as "ECS Southwest LC LLC") as the vendor for testing and special inspections on the E.B. Frank Middle School construction project after the district re-advertised the request for proposals. Board member Mr. Pughle moved to approve ECS; Mr. Wiggins seconded. The board approved the recommendation by show of hands. District staff said the choice was based on prior work history and a recommendation from Metcon, the construction team; a contract will be negotiated and reviewed by the district’s attorneys.

School nursing contracts The board approved two agreements with the Lenoir County Health Department that support school nursing services: one contract for $150,000 to support three 10-month school nurses, and a second contract for $30,000 for a nursing position that will be jointly supervised by the health department and available to assist in emergencies (for example, as staff for a shelter during a hurricane). The board voted to approve both contracts; the district said the health department provided authority to hire the candidate being considered.

Owner's contingency for E.B. Frank Middle School The board authorized Superintendent Williams to approve use of the project owner's contingency for any individual item up to $100,000, with a requirement that the superintendent report any use of the owner’s contingency to the board at least monthly. The policy in place authorizes change orders up to $50,000 by the superintendent; staff said the owner's contingency is separate from change orders because contingency funds are included in the approved guaranteed maximum price. The motion was moved by Mr. Taylor and approved by the board.

Other approvals The board approved three North Carolina School Boards Association policy revisions that had no objections at the prior meeting and been referred to the policy committee in some cases for further review. The board also approved a list of surplus items submitted by the maintenance department and Banks Elementary; proceeds from any sale will return to the submitting departments.

Closed session and next steps Near the end of the meeting the board voted to enter closed session under North Carolina General Statute 143-318.11 to discuss confidential personnel matters with the board’s attorney and to consider initial employment of an individual. The motion to enter closed session passed by show of hands.

Ending All formal approvals reported at the meeting were made by voice or show-of-hands votes; where roll-call tallies were not provided in the transcript staff said items would return with finalized contracts or reports to the board as required.