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Board approves $495,500 in safety and capital supplements and $274,095 for school nutrition; phone and facility upgrades tabled for implementation planning
Summary
Trustees approved supplemental appropriations to cover immediate safety projects — classroom ceiling replacements, snow-guard installations, a sinkhole assessment and gym LED retrofits — and a separate operating supplement for school nutrition. Technology staff outlined a proposed district phone-system replacement featuring building-level redundancy and safety-focused functionality.
The board authorized two supplemental appropriations and heard a staff briefing on facility and phone-system upgrades.
Votes: The board approved a supplemental capital appropriation of $495,500 to the 2025–26 school capital improvement budget to pay for ceiling replacements at Margaret Beaks Elementary, snow-guard installations, a geotechnical evaluation of a sinkhole near Blackburg High School, and LED gym light upgrades at Auburn High and Shawsville Middle (roll call: seven in favor). Separately, the board approved a $274,095 supplemental appropriation to the 2025–26 school nutrition operating budget (seven in favor).
Phone/system proposal: Rob Ratcliffe, director of technology, described a planned modernization of the district phone system moving from a single centralized location to distributed, school-level redundancy so an outage at one site would not affect the whole division. He said the new system would include: call alerts that notify principals and SROs if a 911 call originates in a room; a dial-and-announce function (an emergency code that automatically broadcasts lockdown instructions across a building); and wireless handsets for noisy CTE labs so staff can call from work areas. Ratcliffe noted legacy POTS (plain‑old‑telephone) lines are being phased out or rising dramatically in cost.
Facilities projects: Director of facilities Dr. Mike Brown said plaster ceilings at Margaret Beaks required removal and AC‑type ceiling replacement in up to eight classrooms (estimated $90,000), and snow‑shedding incidents prompted snow guard installations for targeted roofs (operation center estimated $22,500; Kips roughly $11,000). Brown also described a sinkhole near Blackburg High for which geotechnical ERI testing is the first remediation step, and he recommended LED gym upgrades (estimated $3,000 per school) with short payback periods.
Board members asked where the funds would come from (bond interest funds were cited) and sought assurance projects would be prioritized; Miss Franklin and others thanked staff for prompt attention to safety concerns. Trustees also asked for continued updates on phone implementation timelines and the scope and cost of the sinkhole remediation.
Next steps: Administration will proceed with contracting and scheduling for the approved capital work and will return with implementation schedules and any necessary procurement documentation for larger remediation efforts.
