BOE approved $112K in equipment purchases

BLUE RIDGE, GA – Elementary school teachers, staff, and students in Fannin County are getting some new equipment after the board of education approved two purchase requests at their Oct. 10 meeting.

The first approval was to purchase 14 View Sonic ViewBoard Interactive Flat Panels for classroom use at the cost of $52,556 from CDW-G. The request was presented by Heather Finley, the board’s director of instructional technology.

Finley said four the flat panels would have stands for kindergarten students that allow the boards to move down.

The board of education approved the purchase unanimously.

The purchase of 112 Chromebook laptops for teachers, administrators, and support personnel at the county’s three elementary schools was also approved unanimously.

The laptops cost $30,548 together, with 40 going to West Fannin, 39 going to Blue Ridge, and 33 going to East Fannin.

Both of Finley’s requested purchases will be made using Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds, she said.

The board also approved the purchase of a Kubota 4X4 Diesel Tractor, a Kubota Front Loader with a 72-inch bucket, Dirt Dog Pallet Forks, and a Land Pride Bale Spear for the various agriculture programs in the county.

The request was presented by Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations Darren Danner, who said the state department of education had already approved the purchase using Fannin County’s Fiscal Year 2020 Construction-Related Equipment Grant.

The county board approved the purchase in the amount of $29,680 from Mason Tractor Company.

Before the purchase requests, the board got an update on the current state of the school system’s finances.

Superintendent Dr. Michael Gwatney gave a SPLOST update to report the current collections status.

According to Gwatney, the school system took in $518,884.88 in SPLOST funds for the month of August.

He said that was the “highest collection in the history of the month of August,” since the SPLOST was enacted.

Director of Finance Susan Wynn presented the financial report through August 31. Wynn said the board of education is currently two months into the fiscal year.

Through those two months, the school system has seen a little more than $3.7 million in revenue, which accounts for 10.38 percent of the yearly budget. Expenditures through the first two months are at nearly $5.8 million, which is 15.63 percent of the annual budget.

The system currently has $16.2 million in cash balance assets, according to Wynn.