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RANDOLPH – School board members unanimously approved more than $400,000 in total expenditures which includes flooring, technology, and replacing a section of roof at its regular meeting Monday.
Some of the expenditures will be funded through the district’s $1 million-strong special building fund. The district is also planning on utilizing Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) funds made available through a federal program designed for small, rural schools to improve quality of instruction. Randolph Public Schools receives about $25,000 from REAP annually. The remainder of funds needed for the approved expenditures Monday night will be pulled from depreciation or general funds.
The district received two bids to replace a section of roof at the high school. Decking between the roof and ceiling has been damaged due to a leak. A new sloped insulation system will prevent future leaks including a weather barrier to the existing gymnasium brick wall.
Each bid - one from Norfolk-based Guaranteed Roofing and one from Omaha-based Ibex Inc. - were vastly different because each company proposed a different way to do the work, said Superintendent Daryl Schrunk.
Ibex also bid replacing the entire section of roof instead of just the part causing the leak. After lengthy discussion, the board approved the replacement of the entire section and the Ibex bid of $285,000.
The project was initially estimated to cost about $325,000 and was included in the first bond issue proposal that was rejected by voters in November 2024.
The board decided the roof replacement was an immediate need and voted to use money from the special building fund for the project which may be completed this summer.
The board also approved $60,000 for new flooring at the high school commons, the high school office and two elementary classrooms.
Complete Floors, Norfolk, will be doing the flooring installation which includes patterned gray carpet tiles for the high school office and elementary classrooms. The commons area flooring will be a gray vinyl plank.
“They (Complete Floors) wanted to try to put our school color (in the carpet tile) but the office gals thought it looked like it was too busy. I went with the gals,” Schrunk said.
Money from the special building fund will also pay for the new flooring. The board also agreed to fund the district’s 2025 device purchase plan, amounting to more than $50,000. The plan is to purchase 25 new Chromebooks for elementary students and 50 new Chromebooksmfor high school students, The plan also calls for the district to replace four desktop computers for staff and replace 30 laptops for teachers and administrators. The board also approved teh purchase of two new digital whiteboards to be used in the high school choir and Business classrooms.
The district utilizes a five-year technology plan that upgrades computers over time. In the past, the district has used REAP money to offset these technology upgrades.
Schrunk said the fund is a little unstable now that some federally funded programs are being reduced or cut under President Donald Trump’s leadership. The total technology purchase could be split with devices ordered at two separate times to take advantage of last year’s REAP money and the upcoming year’s REAP money, he said.
“Kind of the idea is that maybe don’t wait until December 2026,” Schrunk said.
The board also agreed to purchase a communications application called Thrillshare. The cost is nearly $6,000 annually with an additional $5,000 startup cost.
Thrillshare would replace website, Remind and Blackboard Connect applications already in use with an annual cost around $4,000. Along with being able to share information involving multiple activities to multiple platforms through just one app, administrators may use Thrillshare functions for a digital newsletter and expand to other capabilities.
At the end of the meeting, the board went into executive session to discuss wages for classified staff which includes all employees who don’t have a teaching certificate, Schrunk said. After exiting the session, the board approved a range of increases - from 2.5 to 4 percent - based on position.
The next board meeting is set for 8 p.m., Monday, May 12.
