Board approves $3.7M PA/clock upgrade, $67K multilingual resources and audit

At its Oct. 16 meeting the Forest Hills Board of Education approved a consent grouping that included several financial and contract items.

A motion to approve the consent grouping (items 6a–c) was made and seconded; a roll-call vote recorded six yes votes and one no, carrying the motion. The roll call listed Dr. Rashad, Mrs. Naimayor, Mrs. Monk, Mrs. Kovach, Dr. Clawson and Mrs. Tryon as voting "Yes" and Mrs. DeBoer voting "No." The board president conducted the vote.

Items included in the consent approval:

- A recommendation to purchase K–12 multilingual learner resources through BuyBoard from Saddleback Educational Publishing for an amount not to exceed $67,240, to be paid from designated funds.

- A recommendation to contract with Sportview Television to install and maintain the CareHawk mass-notification and synchronized clock system across the remaining 16 district buildings at a not-to-exceed cost of $3,665,000, to be funded from 2018 bond capital project funds. The administration cited the system’s mobile-app controls, continuous remote monitoring for device failures, and future integration capabilities as reasons for the recommendation.

- Acceptance and approval of the annual audited financial statements for the year ended 06/30/2023; the district reported an unqualified audit opinion and receipt of a certificate of excellence in financial reporting for the 25th consecutive year.

- Authorization to reimburse Kent County $191,337.23 for refunded property taxes.

Board discussion included a short Q&A confirming the PA/clock upgrade was funded from bond capital funds approved by voters in 2018, that the CareHawk pilot at Orchard View had performed well, and that the finance office reported no significant variances through September. The consent package passed on the roll-call vote recorded at the meeting.