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Marion County school board debates raising change‑order authority to $50,000 and tighter reporting rules
Summary
Board members moved closer to increasing the superintendent's authority to approve construction change orders to $50,000 for efficiency but asked staff to add guardrails — including reporting language, possible dual signoff with the board chair, and cumulative delay accounting — before adopting the NEOLA‑recommended revisions.
The Marion County School Board spent a large portion of its March 31 work session debating changes to procurement and facilities policies that would raise the superintendent's authority over construction change orders from $25,000 to $50,000 and revise how the board is notified.
Attorney Blackman, staff counsel, urged the change as a response to market conditions: "construction costs have elevated quite a bit, especially in the post 2020 world," he said, arguing a higher threshold would create needed efficiencies while staff continued to provide oversight. Several board members said they supported efficiency but wanted stronger transparency and limits.
Board members pressed staff for specific safeguards: requiring the board chair to co‑sign priority approvals above…
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