Board approves consent purchases including up to 3,700 Chromebooks and prequalifies 15 A/E firms

At its monthly meeting the Wicomico County Board of Education approved several consent and action items related to procurement and professional services.

Consent agenda: Chair Malone presented multiple consent items that the board had reviewed in advance. The items included personnel matters and procurement approvals: a five‑year Internet service provider contract with Simple Fiber (reported five‑year spend roughly $126,000), a GPS fleet‑tracking system with estimated annual spend up to about $75,000, commercial kitchen equipment contracts covering Feb. 2026 through Dec. 2027, and authorization to purchase up to 3,700 Chromebook devices with a cited total spend of approximately $1,900,000. The board approved the consent agenda on a roll call vote with unanimous ayes.

Professional services: Under action item 6.3, Dr. Reger described the RFQ process for prequalifying architecture and engineering firms: a solicitation posted January 9 received 26 responses; a qualifications evaluation committee reviewed and ranked submissions and recommended 15 firms be prequalified to provide services for miscellaneous or small projects (single‑project value under $10 million). The board approved the recommended list by roll call.

What the approvals mean: The Chromebook authorization and other procurement approvals give the district authority to move forward with purchases within the stated parameters and budget approvals; the prequalification list allows district staff to engage a vetted pool of A/E firms for smaller capital projects.