Escambia County school board approves Dress Code Option B, multiple contracts and purchases including $159,000 video board

The Escambia County School Board on May 20, 2025, approved a set of routine and programmatic actions, including adoption of Dress Code Option B, several procurement contracts and the acceptance of a $159,000 bid for a video board at W.S. Neal High School.

The board approved Dress Code Option B after a roll-call vote that recorded four votes for Option B and three votes for Option A. Board members described Option B as a relaxed dress code emphasizing spirit shirts, jeans and permissible outerwear; Option A was described as a more open standard. The vote followed discussion of both options and was taken by district vote.

On procurement and contracts, the board approved the purchase of 100 Chromebooks for W.S. Neal High School from Ary Jones Educational Solutions for $36,939, funded from WSN Neal Title I funds. Members also approved continuations and renewals of instructional programs (listed in the record as Accelerated Reader, MyOwn, Nearpod and Flocabulary) paid from FY25 NT funds; some dollar amounts for these renewals are unclear in the meeting transcript.

The board accepted a bid from Booster Building Group LLC to install a new video board at W.S. Neal High School, listed in the record at $159,000 (Ward Scott Mars project 24-009.00). Board discussion clarified that the board will contribute up to $100,000 toward the cost for each high school that requests a board and that W.S. Neal had already raised approximately $75,000 toward a $150,000 board. The motion to accept the bid passed with one recorded nay vote.

Other contracts approved included a supplemental vision-services contract with Family First Educational Services LLC (to contract with Mr. Isaac, a certified vision-impairment teacher and orientation & mobility specialist) paid from IDEA funds, and a contract with Gulf Coast Therapy to provide physical and occupational therapy services for special education students for the 2025—2026 school year at a rate noted in the record as about $80 per hour (an increase of $10 per hour from the prior year).

Routine consent items and administrative actions were also approved: permission for the W.S. Neal High School band to fundraise to attend and perform at Universal Studios in Orlando April 23—25, 2026; approval of library furniture for AC Moore Primary School to be paid from Pre-K enhancement grant funds (the transcript lists the amount but the figure is garbled in the record); and payment of bills and payroll. The board also approved a dual-enrollment agreement with Reed State Technical College to allow students to take certain courses at no cost.

The meeting record shows motions were moved and seconded for each action and were approved by voice vote except where a roll call or a recorded nay was noted.