Carroll school system approves bids worth hundreds of thousands of dollars

The Carroll County Board of Education unanimously approved 14 bid contracts earlier this month that will pay for track refurbishment at Winters Mills High School, repairs to stages, rigging and curtains at each of the county’s seven high schools, and other items.

The contract approvals came June 12, during the school board’s regular monthly meeting.

The Winters Mill track contract is for $376,100 and includes removing existing surfaces and replacing the six-lane track’s asphalt base “with a product that meets International Association of Athletic Federation (IAAF) recommendations,” according to school board documents.  The National Cooperative Purchasing Alliance project is set to begin by September.

The stage rigging equipment will bring each of the schools’ equipment up to standards, according to Superintendent Cynthia McCabe. The $133,000 contract will also include installation of fire-resistant stage curtains.

The system will also replace five vehicles in its fleet at a cost of $256,942. Three Chevy Express vans will be replaced by three Ford Transit 250 vans, at a cost of $53,340 each. Each of the vans being replaced has more than 120,000 miles and issues including failing transmissions or excessive rust.

Two Ford Rangers, which cost $45,461 apiece, will replace a 2013 Ford Escape with about 150,000 miles and a 2007 Chevy Trail Blazer, with more than 168,000 miles, extensive rust, and in need of a fuel and transmission line replacement.

McCabe said this approval also helps the Carroll County Career and Technology Center, as parts from the replaced vehicles will be available for students’ instructional purposes.

County public school students will continue to be able to access Naviance, a program that offers personalized college and career planning tools, for the next five years. The school board unanimously approved a contract for $65,428 annually. The system has used Naviance successfully in every high school, as well as Gateway and Carroll Springs, for five years, according to school system staff. A 4% annual increase in cost, largely due to inflation, is expected, Assistant Superintendent of Operations Jon O’Neal said.

And finally, the school system will piggyback on a Baltimore County Public Schools contract to provide snack foods and bottled beverages to be sold in school cafeterias. The five-year contract amounts to $303,275.