By Jeremy Handel, Staff Writer | jeremy@thewoodrufftimes.com
In the first meeting of the new fiscal year, the Spartanburg County School District Four Board of Trustees approved a group of purchases providing technology, security, and cleaning improvements for the district.
Trustees unanimously approved a request to approve approximately $60,000 to purchase new iPads for all 4K classrooms.
The approval will provide 12 new iPads per classroom and will be paid for through remaining COVID funds through a state contract. The tablets will come with full warranty and protective cases.
The Board also approved a $289,452 contract with Network Controls to provide and install new access controls and security cameras at the new high school. The project will include camera coverage for the entire high school property and access control points for all entry points.
Staff indicated that the contract was initially planned to be paid from the soft cost budget but it was shifted to the contingency fund with Harper, the contractor for the school construction project. The project was shifted to better accommodate planning of installation, avoiding a potential change order to the construction project, which likely would have added extra cost.
In other business, Trustees also approved a change in cleaning products for the district. The schools switched to a new solution control system, mixing cleaning supplies on site as needed about 10 years ago. The new system was more efficient and affordable by preventing waste. The previous company has discontinued the cleaning solution the District uses, creating the need for a new product.
Staff issued a bid to six companies to find a new cleaning solution supplier and custodial staff conducting tests on the products to provide feedback on their effectiveness. Based on the bids and the custodial feedback, staff recommended moving to Solsta Waxie Products from Brady Plus. The new product line was both the most affordable and the preferred products recommended by the custodial staff.
In school reports:
Woodruff Primary School reported approximately 650 students registered for school on registration day. The custodial staff had a busy summer, waxing floors, cleaning classroom rugs, deep cleaning classrooms and the cafeteria, and scrubbing all floor tiles.
Woodruff Elementary School reported 450 students had registered by school as of the end of July. The school hosted the Summer Reading Camp and Academic Recovery Camp in June.
Woodruff Middle School reported registering 711 students through the end of July.
Woodruff High School reported approximately 900 students registered through July. Ninety-three students completed the extended school year program and made progress toward graduation.
The District Four Board of Trustees meets on the first Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at the district office. The meetings are open to the public and the next meeting will be on September 2.
Author: Tracy Sanders
