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Board approves contracts for construction, food services, technology and student-data tools; many votes unanimous
Summary
At its April 14 Blue Valley Board of Education meeting the board approved a package of vendor contracts covering construction, food and produce buying, cabling upgrades, classroom and assessment software and other services. Most motions passed unanimously, and several items were discussed briefly before approval.
The Blue Valley Board of Education on April 14 approved a series of vendor contracts for construction, food services, technology upgrades and student-data tools, with most votes passing unanimously.
Why it matters: The contracts move forward several operational projects funded through the district’s budget and bonds — from gym and cabling work to safety, nutrition and student-assessment services — and formalize multi-year agreements that affect district operations and budgets going forward.
The board approved the following motions (motions, movers/seconds and vote outcomes as recorded in the meeting):
- ROB Construction Company Inc. contract (motion: “I move that the Board of Education approves the ROB Construction Company Inc. Contract.” Motion by Jim, second by Jan.) — Motion passed 7-0.
- U.S. Foods Inc. contract for prime food (motion: “I move the Board of Education approve the U. S. Food Inc. Contract.” Motion by Patrick, second by Jody.) — Motion passed 7-0. The item was described as the district’s annual prime-food purchasing contract for non-specialty items such as produce, dairy, bread and pizza.
- Envision Technology Group contract for cabling upgrades at Blue Valley West and Blue Valley Middle (motion: “I move that the Board of Education approve the Envision Technology. Second.” Motion by Jim, second by Clay.) — Motion passed 7-0. The work was described as upgrading cabling for wireless access points, cameras, phones and audio-visual systems in preparation for new paging and intercom systems; funding source stated as bond funds.
- CNC Produce contract for produce (motion: “I move the Board of Education approve the CNC Produce contract.” Motion by Patrick, second by Jody.) — Motion passed 7-0.
- Syntegix contract renewal and upgrade (motion: “I move that the Board of Education approve the Syntegix contract.” Motion by Jody, second by Patrick.) — Motion passed 7-0. (See separate article for details; the board discussed costs, credits and implementation timing.)
- Renaissance Education (EduCLIMBER) multi-year contract (motion: “I move that the Board of Education approve the Renaissance Education EduCLIMBER contract. Second.” Motion by Jim, second by Clay.) — Motion passed 7-0. Board members asked about student data collection and sharing; administration said the district provides required data to the Kansas Department of Education and that no behavior data is stored in EduCLIMBER.
- Renaissance (FastBridge/PathBridge) contract for dyslexia screening (motion: “I move that the Board of Education approve the Renaissance Education Path Bridge contract.” Motion by Jim, second by Jody.) — Motion passed 7-0. FastBridge/PathBridge was described as the district’s dyslexia screening tool and as required by law.
- Xello contract purchased through Southeast Kansas Education Service Center (Greenbush) for the online Individual Plan of Study tool (motion: “I move that the Board of Education approve the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center Xello contract. Second.” Motion by Jim, second by Jan.) — Motion passed 7-0.
What board members and staff said: Presenters characterized the vendors as long-term partners or the lowest responsible bidders. For technology and safety products, staff emphasized timing of installations and credits that affect the district’s short-term cash outlay.
Costs and timing noted in discussion: For Syntegix, staff said the full contract amount on the purchase order is $2,000,081.02; an immediate credit of $842,900 would be applied, and the district would not be billed in the first two years because the credit covers those years and installation costs. Staff said the district would not see a payment request until the third year of the contract.
Next steps: Contracts will be executed by district staff and installations or service-start dates will be scheduled according to each vendor’s implementation plan.
