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Board okays $1.39M bus purchase, moves to bring outsourced custodians in‑house and to draft lawn‑care contracts
Summary
The board approved the purchase of nine Thomas school buses totaling $1,393,551, authorized bringing 23 outsourced custodians on‑staff at an estimated $277,000 cost, and approved attorney drafting of lawn‑care contracts; camera‑access for principals was tabled.
The Dothan City Board of Education approved several operational and procurement items Nov. 18, including a large bus purchase and personnel and contracting actions.
The board approved a bid through Transportation South via Sourcewell to buy nine Thomas C2 311TS buses (model year 2027–2028) at $154,839 each for a total of $1,393,551; estimated delivery time is 15 months. The motion was moved by Mrs. Taiisha Walton and seconded by Mrs. Aurie Jenkins and carried with members present.
On staffing, the board approved converting 23 currently outsourced custodial positions to Dothan City Schools employees. Staff described two categories of custodial positions (outsourced staffing‑provider employees and existing DCS employees stationed at central office), said the in‑house conversion would require posting positions and estimated the additional annual cost at about $277,000. A principal survey showed roughly half of principals were willing to assume responsibility for school‑level custodial management.
The board discussed district lawn‑care practices, noting the district historically operated without contracts and paid vendors by invoice. Members approved a motion authorizing the board attorney to draft formal lawn‑care contracts reflecting past bid winners and standard terms to reduce ambiguity.
A separate proposal to give principals access to school security cameras via district phones was discussed but tabled; staff cited technical differences from consumer systems, bandwidth and encryption concerns, E‑Rate constraints, and a proposed limit of two administrators per school for phone access.
Board members emphasized the need for cost estimates and implementation plans for these operational changes before full expansion.
