Pittsville administrators recommend $1,800 premium website redesign; board requests vendor presentation

District staff told the board the district’s current website design is obsolete and no longer supported by the vendor who created it. Administrators presented two upgrade paths: a custom redesign (longer timeline and higher cost) and a premium, predesigned option quoted at a one-time $1,800. The premium option would include migration of selected existing content, up to nine school or department landing pages, and three hours of post-launch training for assigned users.

Administrators said the premium option could be ready before the next school year and would not include recurring design fees beyond hosting; board members raised questions about mobile responsiveness, ADA/accessibility compliance, donation or payment integrations, scope of training, and the staff time required to complete content mapping. One board member urged pretesting with parents, grandparents and community users to validate navigation before launch.

The board did not vote to purchase; members directed staff to arrange a vendor presentation or circulate the vendor’s slideshow and sample sites for review. Administrators said they will return with the vendor demonstration and a schedule to complete content mapping if the board signals approval.