Jackson Public School Board approves slate of contracts and service agreements including Reading Horizons, Fuelman and Medcor renewal

The Jackson Public School Board voted to approve a slate of information-action items that included contracts, service agreements and operational initiatives spanning instructional supports, student services, facilities leases, transportation and the district’s monthly financial report.

The board approved items a through j as a slate; the motion carried with board members voting in favor. The items approved during the meeting included the following (descriptions reflect administration presentations):

- Terms of service and program materials for Reading Horizons, selected via RFP 2024-17 to support secondary English learners and older students; administrators said the program is age-appropriate for fourth grade and above and leverages students’ home languages to accelerate vocabulary and literacy skills.

- Rescind and replace prior contract with Paper/MeasureClalky (Paper, MeasureClarity) to align district access with the Mississippi Department of Education’s statewide contract for grades 7–12 and to add sixth grade and a transcript fulfillment add-on for grades 9–12; administration said the revised local contract reduces the district payment from $62,200 to $10,240 (a $51,960 reduction) while maintaining the same valuation and reporting to the board at the end of the contract period.

- A service agreement with The Growing Tree to provide applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for scholars with disabilities, specifically students with autism spectrum disorder; administrators said two scholars are currently receiving services and the company will provide in-school support at no cost to the district.

- Renewal of a memorandum of understanding with Medcor (telephonic nurse triage services) to reduce workers’ compensation reporting lag; the annual fee is $12,480 based on an estimate of 150 claims at $83.20 per claim, and administrators reported average claim-reporting lag time decreased from about 25 days to 3.9 days since using the service.

- A contractual agreement with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH), funded via a Library of Congress program, to provide professional learning and project-based learning with primary sources at Powell Middle School; the grant will include teacher compensation for after-school meetings and student field trips to two Mississippi museums.

- Cancellation of a sixteenth-section lease with William Joseph Banks and Connie Perez Banks due to missed payments and approval of a new sixteenth-section lease with Hughes Auto Body and Towing for identified parcels at 323 Wilmington Street (parcel identifiers cited by the administration).

- Approval of the preliminary monthly financial report for the month ended 12/31/2024: administrators reported a roughly $7,000,000 improvement in fund balance over the prior year, general fund revenues exceeding expenditures by about $564,000, and an ending cash balance of approximately $26,000,000 as of 12/31/2024, driven in part by timing of drawdowns and higher interest income.

- Implementation of Fuelman to supply fuel for the district fleet; administration said Fuelman will support accountability and operational efficiency for transportation fueling needs.

- Continued professional services with First Consultants to analyze school boundaries and bus routes; administrators said the primary scope begins with boundary analysis and will conclude with recommendations for bus routing and any potential rezoning implications.

Administrators presented each item and answered board questions before the slate vote. The motion to approve items a–j was moved and seconded on the record; the chair called for the ayes and the motion carried. Individual contract documents, purchase and sale agreements, and signatures will be completed as required by the district’s procurement and legal processes.