Randolph County board accepts $285,000 digital learning grant as finance staff flag budget timing issues
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Summary
The Randolph County Board of Education approved acceptance of a $285,000 State digital learning initiative grant and received a second-quarter finance update that flagged timing-driven shortfalls in capital outlay and shifts in revenues vs. prior year.
The Randolph County Board of Education voted to accept a State Digital Learning Initiative Impact Grant totaling $285,000, a three-year award the district said will bankroll expanded computational thinking and STEM programming.
Board members approved the grant during the meeting after a curriculum presenter told the board the award will be distributed as $95,000 per year over three years to support robotics, coding, esports and professional development across schools. "This grant will be spread out over 3 years, so $95,000 each year," the presenter said, requesting acceptance in accordance with board policy 8220.
The action followed a finance briefing that described second-quarter revenues and expenses across state, federal and capital funds. Finance staff (referred to during the meeting as Marty) reported state fund second-quarter revenues of about $33,390,219 and year-to-date expenses that were a few million dollars lower than the prior year in percentage terms, while noting federal revenue and expense timing that suppressed capital outlay receipts this quarter. On capital outlay the presenter said: "That's $978,000.83 less than prior year," attributing much of the variance to timing in requests for facilities-upgrade funding.
The board approved the motions—including the grant acceptance and routine contract notices—by voice vote with no recorded opposition. The agenda also included notification of three contracts subject to board policy for purchases of $50,000 or more.
Board members and staff said they will monitor the timing of capital requests and federal budgets closely in upcoming quarters and bring any necessary budget requests to the board as projects are scheduled. The approval makes the district eligible to begin program planning and to proceed with vendor procurements and professional-development scheduling tied to the grant's priorities.
