Finance committee moves several procurement items forward; board later approves routine reports and hires

At the Finance Committee of the Whole on Dec. 18 the Allentown School District advanced several procurement and administrative items to the regular board meeting and later the full board approved routine reports and hires by roll call.

Key committee actions included a request to hire Barry Iset/Izett to design temporary modular classrooms for Sonia Sotomayor Dual Language Immersion Academy at an estimated $101,800 to carry the project from concept to construction, and approval to move forward with Miller Sports Construction for gym floor screening, striping and refinishing at Trexler for an estimated $40,190. Administration also explained PlanCon Part D filing requirements following an Act 34 public hearing and moved that item forward for regular‑meeting consideration.

The committee considered a request to upgrade the district’s email infrastructure from legacy Exchange 2013 to Microsoft Exchange Online with a district‑level not‑to‑exceed figure of $100,000; presenters characterized Microsoft as the sole‑source provider for Exchange Online and the motion to move the item forward carried.

Later in the evening the full board conducted a roll call (nine members present) and approved minutes, policy and finance reports, the superintendent’s and personnel reports, and new administrative hires (Shelly Fairclough Gumbs, assistant project coordinator for 21st Century Schools; Nicole Fisher, director of mathematics). The roll‑call votes recorded in the transcript show unanimous approval for those reports (recorded as 9‑0).