Randolph County Schools to roll out anonymous tipline; board approves five‑year capital plan and LED contract

The Randolph County Board of Education on Oct. 16 approved a five‑year capital plan and a countywide LED lighting contract, and heard plans to launch an anonymous reporting platform for students and community members.

The superintendent presented the five‑year capital plan as a district-wide “wish list” of projects, noting many items list funding sources as unknown. The board voted to approve the plan after a motion and second, with the presiding officer announcing the motion carried. The superintendent said some priorities depend on available funding and that projects will be added or removed as items are completed.

Allen Robertson, introduced in the meeting as the district’s “safety guru,” described a platform identified in the record as “anonymous alerts” that the district contracted earlier this year. Robertson said the platform allows students, families and community members to report issues privately without having to approach school administrators publicly. “When I receive a tip on my phone, I don’t know where it came from,” Robertson said. “I can identify myself and say, ‘hey, you’ve got Allen Robertson. You have my attention now.’ I can communicate with the person who gave me the tip, but I don’t know who they are. They’re protected.” He told the board principals are testing the system and that phones and the structure are loaded for testing, with a target to go live “late October, early November.”

On facilities and energy upgrades, the board approved awarding the LED lighting replacement project to Grace Construction Incorporated as the low bidder. In the meeting record the bid amount was given as $1,098,167.26 and the superintendent said the project should save “in the neighborhood of $15 to $20,000 a month.” The superintendent also said fixtures are guaranteed for five years and would be replaced if problems arise. (The transcript later contains an apparent reading error that restates the dollar figure inconsistently; the bid is recorded elsewhere in the packet as $1,098,167.26 and the later spoken figure appears to be a clerical or reading mistake.)

The superintendent also noted recent COVID and bond funds had enabled prior projects and that the capital plan includes projects such as site and parking improvements at specific schools; many projects remain contingent on funding.

The board had no further business and adjourned the meeting.