On Tuesday evening, the Brunswick County Board of Education voted unanimously to award the contract for the design of two new planned schools to the architectural firm of MBAJ Architecture. The firm will be entrusted with the design of the new north elementary school that has been proposed for the Leland area. They will also design plans for the proposed Holden Beach area middle school.
Executive Director of operations Steve Miley presented the contracts for approval to the board and indicated that MBAJ had satisfactorily met the budget restrictions and had agreed to the deadline for submission.
The board also upheld a motion to support a North Carolina House bill that will provide $15 million in statewide appropriations to ensure schools are able to have the funding necessary to meet the recently overhauled state nutrition standards.
Board Member Ray Gilbert dissented, expressing concerns that not enough was known about how the funding would affect other projects.
"It sounds good, $15 million going into nutrition, but is that going to take $15 million from construction?" Gilbert asked.
In response, Child Nutrition Director Tina Ward explained that the funds were necessary to make up for the exceptional loss of revenue that has resulted primarily from the new state nutrition standards. According to Ward, since the new standards were put in place, funding from the sales of formerly allowed products has dropped more than 40 percent. Soda drinks are one of the popular products that students could buy a la carte before the new standards took effect.
The board also unanimously approved a motion to award a new contract for the board's auditing services to the Dixon & Hughes accounting firm. While the board acknowledged that the auditing firm of McGladrey & Pullen has provided outstanding service since 1996, it stated that the fresh perspective and lower fees offered by Dixon & Hughes make the firm a good candidate for the contract.
"It's good to get a new set of eyes to look at our financial situation," said Gilbert.
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