School District 5 board approves property buys, construction contracts and personnel changes; adopts redistricting plan

The School District 5 Board of Trustees approved a package of property purchases, construction contracts and personnel items at its July 21 meeting, and adopted an updated educational structure and rezoning plan after public discussion and a 4–2 vote.

Board actions came in a series of motions taken after the public portion of the meeting. The board approved purchase of five parcels of land shown in the meeting packet, awarded a design–bid–build contract for two elementary-school classroom wings, raised district substitute pay rates, approved a transition to a cloud-based financial/human resources system, and approved a weapon-detection services agreement. The board also established a procurement review panel and confirmed an appointment to the Richland County First Steps board.

Why it matters: the approved purchases and construction contracts fund the district’s near-term facility work — including additional classroom wings at Chapin Elementary School and Lake Murray Elementary School — and the personnel and technology approvals affect operations and daily instruction. The redistricting motion will reshape attendance areas for a subset of students and was one of the more contested votes of the evening.

Most significant votes and key details (Votes at a glance) - Approve agenda: motion carried (recorded as 4–0 earlier in the meeting). (packet reference: agenda) - Enter executive session for the items listed in the agenda packet: motion carried (recorded). (executive session items were listed at the start of the meeting; no substantive public action in executive session was announced). (packet exhibit: executive session list) - Approve minutes of the June 23, 2025 board meeting: motion carried 6–0. - Approve selected employment items shown in Exhibit A: motion carried 6–0. (Personnel specifics provided in exhibit A.) - Approve purchase of five parcels (addresses read into the record): motion carried 6–0. Parcels listed in the motion: 1400 Kennerly Road; 1627 and 1635 Hollingshew Road; 1707 Hollingshew Road; and 11601 Broad River Road (Chapin). The board stated four parcels are for the new Dutch Fork Elementary project and one is associated with Kate (record in packet). (packet exhibit: property list) - Award design–bid–build contract to EDCON, Inc., for additional classroom wings at Chapin Elementary School and Lake Murray Elementary School (Exhibit D): motion carried 6–0. - Approve an amendment to substitute pay rates for the 2025–26 school year as shown in attachment E: motion carried 6–0. The motion raised multiple substitute categories (full- and half-day; certified and noncertified); long-term substitute pay was not changed pending state-level certification changes. (packet exhibit: substitute pay amendment) - Approve district transition to a capital SaaS instance with Tyler Technologies/iVisions for finance, payroll, purchasing and HR, subject to contract clarifications (remove indemnity clause and clarify an exhibit): motion carried 6–0. The board directed legal/administration to finalize contract language before execution. (packet exhibit F) - Approve a weapon-detection services contract regarding development of security personnel or devices (Exhibit G), sole-source certification to be handled by the CFO: motion carried 6–0. Board discussion noted the item would proceed as a sole-source procurement subject to the district’s posting and challenge period. (packet exhibit G) - Establish a Procurement Review Panel (Exhibit J) and elect its chair: nomination and voting led to a 3–2 result for the final chair. The board considered two nominees (Jason Bynum and Kevin Scully). The motion to appoint Jason Bynum failed; Kevin Scully was approved as panel chair on a 3–2 vote. (packet exhibit J) - Approve appointment of the district’s representative to the Richland County First Steps board (Exhibit K): motion carried 6–0. - Adopt the updated educational structure and redistricting plan for 2026–27 (Exhibit L): motion carried 4–2. Board members discussed preferred choice and preferred pathway options for families affected by multiple rezoning actions; administrators said the preferred-pathway option applies only to a small number of households who would have been rezoned twice. (packet exhibit L) - Approve solicitation for a supplemental-pay/salary study to include athletics, arts and special duties (Exhibit M): motion carried 6–0. The solicitation will return results and cost estimates for the board to consider. (packet exhibit M)

What the motions did not finalize: the board heard a presentation on a third-party dropout recovery vendor (Graduation Alliance) and asked staff to continue discussions about implementation and funding models. No contract with Graduation Alliance was approved at the July 21 meeting.

Board members and staff emphasized procedures and next steps in several votes. For example, the vote to approve the district’s transition to a Tyler Technologies SaaS system included a direction to remove or clarify indemnity language before final signature. The weapon-detection services contract was approved as a sole-source item pending the CFO’s certification and required public posting.

Background and next steps: the approved contracts for Chapin Elementary and Lake Murray Elementary support the district’s bond-referendum work and planned groundbreakings for the two schools (superintendent remarks in the public report referenced August 5 and August 6 groundbreakings). The district’s CFO, Heather Tucker, said the financial reports for March–May show property-tax collections above budgeted levels while state revenue (state aid to the classroom) has trended under the budgeted projection; the board directed staff to integrate updated revenue assumptions into upcoming budget amendments and to monitor federal holdbacks that could affect certain federal program funds.