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Richland One approves $1.08 million Scholastic summer reading contract amid questions on distribution and impact
Summary
The Richland School District One board approved a $1,082,035.60 contract with Scholastic Inc. for summer reading kits after administrators said students will self-select titles, Spanish-language options will be available, and the district will track literacy outcomes to measure impact.
The Richland School District One Board of School Commissioners on March 24 approved a contract with Scholastic Inc. for summer reading kits for students from pre-kindergarten through 11th grade totaling $1,082,035.60.
Miss Hodges, presenting the contract, said the kits include a journal, 10 books and a drawstring bag and that the purchase is exempt from the district’s procurement code for copyrighted educational materials. "The administration so recommends," she said.
Board members pressed administration staff on cost and delivery. Commissioner Clyburn asked how the district would avoid students leaving books at school and whether the district had solicited principals’ feedback for upper grades. Miss Rivers, the administration lead on the initiative, said the program is different this year because students will self-select titles. "Students will actually select their own books," she said, adding that if a secondary student does not select books they will not receive them, which she said will reduce waste and likely bring spending below the contract maximum.
Miss Rivers also described the program's equity focus: staff analyzed literacy data by ZIP code to identify
