Clifton Hayes

The meeting, held virtually due to inclement weather and a State of Emergency declaration, began with the approval of a revised agenda. Key discussions included proclamations for School Board Recognition Month and Black History Month. The Superintendent provided an update regarding snow days, confirming that students and teachers would not need to make up for the day schools were closed due to the State of Emergency. A bid for cosmetology equipment was postponed until the next meeting. New business involved the approval of the Financial Position Report, the FY26 Final Budget, and the award of a contract to Douron for furniture for the New Hodgson facility. The board also approved posting the 2026-2027 District Calendar for public comment. Personnel recommendations were voted upon following an executive session.

Key discussions during the meeting included an update from the Superintendent on February events, recognizing CTE Month and student competition results, such as second place for the St. Georges Culinary Arts team and medal counts for NCCVT teams at EdRising state competitions. In business matters, the board awarded Bid 2606 for Delcastle Door Hardware to A3 Communications doing business as AdVantech for $206,900.00. The board also gave final approval to the 2026-2027 English & Spanish District Calendars without revisions, despite external requests to change the start date. Personnel recommendations were approved. During the Executive Session, topics included a personnel issue involving disciplinary action documentation, a security restriction on a counselor at AI due to behavior, and the notification of Christiana Care discontinuing support for the district's cooperative employment program. The board also noted the recent death of a Delcastle student.

The agenda for the meeting includes several key action items and presentations. Discussions will cover financial reports and several bid awards for equipment and supplies, specifically for Auto Body and Auto Tech, CTE Construction Tools, Hodgson Driver Simulators, and Delcastle Door Hardware. New business focuses on personnel matters, and old business involves the second reading of the 2026-2027 English & Spanish District Calendar. The agenda also lists public presentations regarding the Legacy Award and the District Athletics Master Plan. The Board may enter into Executive Session to consider matters authorized under Delaware Code.

The special board meeting focused on approving bids and quotations for the New Hodgson project under Bid Pack E, resulting in the award of 18 out of 21 potential contracts, with specific low bids detailed for demolition, sitework, concrete, steel, masonry, carpentry, roofing, and electrical systems. Three contracts received no bids and require re-bidding. Additionally, contracts for Cosmetology Equipment for the New Hodgson were split between two vendors, Kaemark and Salon Equipment USA. Under New Business, the board approved personnel recommendations for the Chief Custodian position at Hodgson.

The meeting included recognition of accomplishments involving student presenters from Delcastle, including a technical drafting student and acknowledgments for Fire Science and September 11th Day of Remembrance activities, as well as scholarship recipients. Public presentations featured student volunteerism from the Key Club and recognition for the Legacy Award recipient and district retirees. The Superintendent provided an update on various district matters, including communication regarding reissued tax bills, a THC awareness campaign, hosting the Combined Boards meeting where redistricting was discussed, the Culinary Arts program's participation in the Taste of Delaware event, and a visit from the US Secretary of Education to St. Georges, during which funding for CTE units was noted as unchanged since 2006. The board approved the financial reports for November 2025 and adopted revised board policies after a period for public comment yielded no responses. Personnel recommendations, including new appointments, resignations, retirements, coaching recommendations, and staff returning from leave, were approved.