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Votes at a glance: Scranton School District approves grants, bond authorization and facilities projects; several contract changes fail
Summary
The Scranton School District board approved multiple finance, facilities and personnel items including a Ready to Learn grant ($793,755.29), bond authorization, audit acceptance and several construction and lease decisions. A proposed amendment to the student transportation contract and several change orders failed.
The Scranton School District board of school directors approved a range of routine and capital items at its October meeting while rejecting several vendor-driven amendments.
On finance, the board voted to accept the 2021 single tax office audit prepared by Rainey CPAs and approved a resolution requesting the tax equity supplement under the Ready to Learn block grant (Act 14 of the school code) for the 2024–25 school year, with a stated financial impact of $793,755.29. Directors also authorized a resolution to permit issuance of general obligation bonds to fund district facility projects and capital equipment.
On property and operations, the board approved a $150,000 contract award for districtwide exterior door upgrades (Project 033035) and a $92,577.10 contract to reconstruct the failing Sumner retaining wall. The board approved a not-to-exceed $108,000 change order to extend modular leases for six months ($18,000/month). Two change-order motions — a $134,305.21 request to replace carpet tile with quartz tile and a $124,747.56 paint contract for 39 rooms and a gymnasium — failed after discussion about possible in-house or rebid savings.
Personnel and services motions approved included grouped special education settlement agreements, a hearing-impaired services agreement for Sept. 9, 2024–June 30, 2025, the district personnel report (hires contingent on background checks), and a one-year technology services agreement with NEIU for eight hours per week of support at $640 per month.
A motion to amend the student transportation services contract with Pete's Garage — lowering required umbrella liability insurance from $10,000,000 to $5,000,000 and adding a one-way shuttle service to Memorial Stadium for two intermediate schools — was the meeting's most contested item and failed in a roll-call vote after directors said the vendor had not provided requested cost-difference data.
The board also approved several procedural items including minutes for prior meetings and a consent-agenda item clarifying donated bus transportation costs to the college fair. Several public-comment items and administrative reports were heard prior to the votes.
Next steps: approved contracts and projects proceed per administration guidance; defeated contract amendments may return with additional vendor data or renegotiation.
