Votes at a glance: Marion board approves contracts, instructional materials, expulsions and construction items
Summary
At its Jan. 27 meeting the Marion County School Board approved routine and substantive items including adoption hearings for K–12 ELA materials, a $3.7 million GMP for East Marion Elementary (one recusal), ratification of an IUPAT contract (~$1M), multiple expulsions with services, and the consent agenda; a bid for ready-mix concrete was rejected.
The Marion County School Board on Jan. 27 approved a set of routine and substantive items during a meeting heavy on recognition, reports and roll-call votes.
Among the actions taken:
- Agenda and minutes: the board approved the meeting agenda and earlier minutes by voice vote (each passed 5–0).
- Instructional materials: the board opened and approved public hearings recommending adoption of English language arts instructional materials for kindergarten through 12th grade; motions for each grade were moved and seconded and recorded as passing 5–0.
- Collective bargaining: the board ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT Local 1010) covering 2025–2028; HR reported a district cost of approximately $1,000,000; board approval recorded 5–0.
- Central office staffing: the board approved amendments to the central office staffing plan, including exchanging a budget specialist position in Grants & Federal Programs for an Accountant I (funded by Title I), and replacing a purchasing specialist with a Coordinator II (general funds); motion passed 5–0.
- Expulsions with services: the board approved expulsions with services (off-campus virtual learning) for student JD26-088E and for students JD26-092, JD26-094, JD26-095, JD26-096 and JD26-097 for the remainder of the 02/2026 school year and the first and second quarters of 02/2027; votes recorded as 5–0.
- Construction and procurement: • GMP change orders: the superintendent reported four deductive change orders (kitchen HVAC at Bellevue Middle School; Hillcrest shade structure; Osceola Middle School improvements; Marion Technical College HVAC/welding lab) totaling $615,016.97 in unused funds to be returned to the owner (informational). • East Marion Elementary: the board approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) of $3,700,000 for interior walls/doors and a single point-of-access vestibule at East Marion Elementary; contractor Ausley Construction; schedule 02/26/2026–12/31/2026. One board member recused; the motion carried 4–0 with one recusal. • Bid rejection: the board voted to reject bid 4165GM for ready-mixed concrete delivery after some bids were deemed nonresponsive, allowing staff to rebid or negotiate; vote 5–0.
- Interlocal agreement: the board approved a 10-year interlocal agreement with the Town of Reddick for use, maintenance and safety inspections of basketball courts at Reddick Collier Elementary (two 10-year renewals allowed); motion passed 5–0.
Votes and mechanics: where recorded, board votes were by voice and reported as unanimous (5–0), except East Marion (4–0 with one recusal). Several items involved routine motions with brief staff presentations or informational summaries before the vote.
What’s next: staff indicated follow-up reporting on implementation (for example, construction schedules and vendor training) and community meetings are being scheduled for items such as North End rezoning and other district initiatives.
