Board approves $94,800 lease with Baptist Children's Home for Kennedy Home site

The Lenoir County Board of Education on Aug. 3 approved a lease extension with the Baptist Children's Home of North Carolina to continue operating the Lenoir County Learning Academy at the Kennedy Home campus.

A district staff presenter told the board the lease totals $94,800 for the year, or $7,900 per month, and represents a roughly $300 monthly increase compared with the prior year. "This contract is in the amount of $94,800 or $7,900 a month," the presenter said during the meeting. The presenter described the agreement as an extension of an existing arrangement and said the district would revisit terms before the end of the current year if the board approved the extension.

Board members moved and seconded the measure and approved it without objection. A board member noted the lease has been less costly than operating the alternative program at a previous on-campus location when utilities and upkeep were included.

The district's staff said any future renegotiation of the contract would be brought back to the board and that proceeds or budgetary effects would be reflected in the department's accounts. No opposition or public comment against the lease was recorded during the meeting, and the item passed by voice vote.