The Oglethorpe County Board of Education struggled to come to a decision during its Tuesday meeting about whether to use a new government website to sell surplus items from the former primary school.
Superintendent Beverley Levine recommended GovDeals, an online auctioning service for government agencies to sell unused equipment.
“It resells everything — from buses that are no longer (in use) ... furniture, things that are left over from the old school, all that kind of stuff,” BOE chair Becky Soto said.
Levine said the service would have no added costs for the school system and would create a seamless buyer and seller relationship. However, a lack of a contract led the board to table the discussion until the next meeting.
The board decided to renew its contract with Fortinet, a California-based cyber security network for $28,950 on Feb. 19. The company protects from malware and tracks Oglethorpe County School-issued devices for suspicious activity.
Funding comes through the Better Connections Grant.
The board also discussed the Rooms Communication tool, a two-way mass communication app used by Oglethorpe County School System. Data shows that nearly 91% of guardians in the district have an account, but only 73% of teachers do.
The school system switched to Rooms so all parents, staff and student communication could function under one umbrella instead of different platforms.
“I do know one elementary student who’s active, and then she helps her mom, and then her mom communicates, because there’s a language barrier,” said Rosanna Ames, communications coordinator for the Oglethorpe County School System.
In other business, the BOE:
tabled a discussion on whether to continue as a fiscal agent intermediary for the State of Georgia Department of Human Services.
- heard that the Family Connection program has not reached out with its new contract. Levine said there’s been conversation about letting the county take over this role, but nothing has been decided.