Gadsden County School Board reviews FEMA options for new K‑8 gym and requests consultant time to finish audit work

At a March 24 financial workshop the Gadsden County School Board discussed FEMA reports about damage to the new K‑8 school’s gym and cafeteria and the implications for federal reimbursements, and heard a request to extend an outside consultant’s contract to complete the district’s Annual Financial Report (AFR).

Mrs. Bruner told trustees that Rostan representatives Jeremy Landry and Joshua Bennett had prepared FEMA reports on the gym and cafeteria, and warned that the district is under a June 30 deadline from the Department of Emergency Management to complete eligible projects. "If we can get these projects most of the way complete before the deadline, then we'll have a better chance of asking for an extension past June 30," she said.

The discussion turned to how to use alternate projects to meet FEMA eligibility. Mrs. Bruner identified Project 103021 (Shanks Middle School campus) as a possible alternate and said federal cost shares were reported as "1.3" while the district's portion with the state would be $218,469.43. She also described 428 project 77055 (Chattahoochee Warehouse and Greensboro Elementary), saying much of those funds went to renovating the maintenance building and that remaining dollars could reimburse the district or be used for equipment such as a generator.

Mrs. Bruner asked the board to extend consultant Kathy Sneads’ hours through June 1, 2026 so she can finish the AFR, answer auditors, and assist with responses to audit findings; the extension request did not include additional fees, the consultant said. "The fee would be consumed in hours," Sneads said, and offered to deliver a written assessment of procedures and training needs if the board requested one.

Board members debated whether the district should rely less on outside consulting and instead build internal capacity. Mr. Charlie D. Frost said he wants the finance team to reach a point where outside help is unnecessary. Ms. Stacey S. Hannigon urged adding an explicit vendor assessment to the contract so the district can identify gaps and set a realistic timetable for reducing outside assistance. Chair Leroy McMillan cautioned that adding an assessment would consume hours needed to complete immediate AFR work and suggested the board could reconsider an assessment in the next fiscal year.

On scheduling, Mrs. Bruner said the state had not yet settled its budget and asked whether to postpone upcoming budget workshops to await final numbers; Chair McMillan recommended keeping the workshops on the published schedule so trustees could learn the budget process.

No formal motion or vote on a contract extension or budget‑workshop postponement was recorded during the workshop. The board moved on to facilities updates and later adjourned at 5:53 p.m.