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Edgecombe board approves mental-health contract, digital curriculum and $62M grant submission; various items contingent on attorney review
Summary
The Edgecombe County Board of Education approved a set of purchases and contracts including a $53,000 Gaggle mental-health contract funded by NCDPI, a $92,706.50 Imagine Learning (Ingenuity) digital curriculum license, a $36,710.06 Follett library resource system purchase, a Transcend MOU paying the district $5,000, and voted to submit a needs-based capital grant application that could fund a multi-million-dollar consolidation project. Several approvals were contingent on attorney review.
The Edgecombe County Board of Education approved multiple contracts and funding actions at its Sept. 9 meeting, moving forward technology purchases, student-support contracts and a major grant application to support facility consolidation and renovation.
Contracts and purchases: The board approved a sole-source purchase of the Follett library/resource manager for $36,710.06 using ESSER III funds (PRC 181). A technology presenter noted Follett is the vendor for the library-management software the district uses.
The board also approved a contract with Gaggle.net to provide up to 200 hours of licensed mental-health services for the 2024–25 school year at a total of $53,000, with the presenter saying NCDPI will provide 100% of the requested funds. That agreement was approved contingent on the board attorney’s final sign-off.
District leaders approved purchase of Imagine Learning’s Ingenuity digital curriculum for secondary schools (grades 6–12) at $92,706.50 (PRC 131). Staff said the platform supports initial credit, credit recovery and supplemental curriculum; board members asked about language and course breadth and encouraged increased community marketing of the offering.
Transcend MOU and program support: The board approved, contingent on attorney review, a memorandum of understanding with Transcend to document implementation of the NumberLab model in the district. The presenter said the program’s grant funder (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation via Transcend) will provide $5,000 to support NumberLab implementation and district observations/interviews.
Needs-based capital grant: Staff presented a concept plan for a potential consolidation at North Edge Hill that would combine multiple schools into a preK–12 campus and add career-technical education bays. The project concept cited potential cost-savings and student-capacity planning tied to the Rocky Mount merger. The board approved submission of a needs-based public school capital fund grant application to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, contingent on attorney and county-commissioner review; the board noted the grant application deadline is imminent and staff will refine costs and the narrative before filing.
Votes and process notes: All motions on these items were moved, seconded and called; board members answered questions about staffing ratios, funding sources and timelines. Several approvals were explicitly contingent on final attorney review. Where vote counts were not recited in the transcript, the chair called for ayes and declared motions carried.
What remains: Contracts contingent on attorney approval will return for final execution; staff will continue to refine the capital grant narrative and numbers before submission by the application deadline in October.
