Board declines new North Florida Child Development agreement, plans transition for children

The Madison County School Board voted 4-1 on Sept. 18 to decline entering a contract with North Florida Child Development (NFCD) for the 2025–26 school year after board members raised concerns about slot allocation, unpaid or disputed transportation invoices and a lack of clarity on whether NFCD had the contracted slots available.

Board members said the decision was aimed at protecting the children's continuity of services. The motion to "decline to enter into an agreement with North Florida Child Development for the 25-26 school year" passed after extended public comment and a staff review of the returned NFCD contract.

NFCD representative Miss Gaskins told the board she had understood 17 slots would be available to Madison and said the organization believed the funds were budgeted. Board members and staff countered that enrollment and slot availability had not been documented in a way the board could verify at the meeting. Superintendent Adams and district staff reported discrepancies between the contract the board approved and the version NFCD returned: the approved contract listed transportation services at $51,006.75 (two payments due 12/31/2024 and 06/15/2025), while the returned/edited agreement referred to salary amounts of $42,072 and noted transportation cost needed to be discussed. District records indicated NFCD had not paid the district for transportation services for the 2024–25 year; staff said food-service invoices had been paid but transportation had not.*

Board members asked NFCD to provide cancelled checks and invoices to reconcile payment history. Several board members said they wanted no further delay in ensuring children continued to receive services. "We can't just leave these families up in the air," said one board member during discussion; the board directed staff to reach out to affected families and to work with school principals to transfer eligible children into district programs where appropriate. The superintendent said staff would attempt to finalize a transition plan immediately and recommended a special meeting if necessary.

The vote and board direction were: decline to enter into a NFCD agreement for 2025–26 — motion by Miss Knight, second by Miss Hagen — tally yes 4, no 1. The board instructed staff to contact families, seek reconciliation documentation from NFCD, and prepare a transition plan to move eligible children into district-operated programs for the coming year.

Ending: District staff will follow up with NFCD for invoices and cancelled checks, reach out to families of currently served children, and present a transition plan at a special meeting or the next regular meeting.

*Clarifying detail from staff: two contract versions were compared; one unsigned/board-approved version listed $51,006.75 for transportation (biannual payments due 12/31/2024 and 6/15/2025) while the returned signed agreement included different language and a salary figure of $42,072; staff said they had not received transportation invoices payment for 24-25 but had records of some food-service payments.