Board committee advances auditor contract, Link renewal and $6,000 pilot funding for girls’ flag football; facilities and RFQ updates provided

Members of the Administrative Services and Operations committee moved multiple business items to the full board and received information on facilities and procurement.

On finance matters, staff presented an auditor contract for fiscal year 2025 and a renewal of the district’s Link software program. A committee member moved to approve the financial contract and the Link renewal for consideration by the full board; the committee voted in favor and the items were carried forward. The motion on the record combined both the auditor contract and the Link renewal for referral to the full board.

The committee approved forwarding a $6,000 request to the full board to pilot a girls’ flag-football program for the upcoming fall season. Presenters said the pilot would cover four district high schools, fund athletic training presence and first-responder coverage, and that athletic directors at the four high schools had expressed support. The presenter said the program would be a short, eight-week fall season and that the district is seeking grant funding in addition to the requested $6,000.

Staff gave a brief RFQ update for a planned new school: five firms submitted responses and all five passed the first phase; interviews are scheduled next month and the results will be presented to the project focus group and then the full board. No final vendor selection was made at this meeting.

Facilities and maintenance reported progress on several capital and in-house projects, including renovation of concession and restroom buildings at Rocky Mount Middle School, window replacement at Rocky Mount Middle that required weekend work, seating and sound upgrades in the auditorium, a fieldhouse and concession improvements at Northern Nash, tile-flooring and mechanical upgrades at Willowford Early Learning Center, and ongoing drainage and mechanical work at Hubbard and other campuses. Staff said they expect some projects to be completed this fiscal year and discussed a planned May ribbon-cutting for the Northern Nash fieldhouse so seniors can see the facility before graduation.

Academic services reported approval of 10 out-of-state or overnight field trips; the committee noted there was no additional cost to the district for those trips. The field-trip motions were approved by the academic committee and carried.

Several motions in committee were recorded as carried without detailed roll-call tallies in the transcript; staff and board members followed standard procedure to move items to the full board or approve pilot funding at the committee level. The committee adjourned after the reports.