The Aiken County Board of Education Regular Meeting, October 14, 2025 6:00 p.m. at the District Office - 1000 Brookhaven Drive, Aiken, SC 29803

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Submitted by Kim_Waters on Fri, 10/10/2025 - 11:49am

Dates:

Tuesday, October 14, 2025 - 6:00pm

THE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT OF AIKEN COUNTY

BOARD OF EDUCATION

AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA

OFFICIAL AGENDA __REGULAR SESSION _6:00 P.M.__OCTOBER 14, 2025

Location: 1000 Brookhaven Drive Aiken, SC

Tuesday’s meeting will be live streamed on our website, acpsd.net.

REGULAR SESSION: 6:00 P.M.

MOMENT OF SILENCE & PLEDGE: Mr. Cameron Nuessle

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Regular Meeting – September 23, 2025

SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS

SCSBA Certificate of Achievement – Deborah Tyler

SCSBA Certificate of Achievement – James Broome

SPECIAL ORDERS OF BUSINESS

Public Participation

Office of the Board Chairman

No Items this Week

A. INDIVIDUAL ITEMS

1. Personnel Appointments (Dr. Minolfo)

The administrative, certified and classified personnel presented have been screened by the Human Resources Department, and interviewed, and/or approved by the Principal or supervisor for each location.

2. Adoption of the following policy: Policy BEA Livestreaming of Board Meetings (Mrs. Meek)

This act amends the South Carolina Code of Laws by adding Section 59-19-85 to make school board meetings more accessible to the public. It requires school boards to create and follow policies that provide livestreams or other electronic ways to view meetings. The State Board of Education will set related guidelines and all provisions must be in place by January 1, 2026.

3. Proposed 2026 – 2027 Budget Calendar (Mr. Traxler)

Board Policy DBG requires that the Aiken County Board of Education adopt a budget calendar by November 1 each year.

B. CONSENT ITEMS: The following items will be voted on as a group; individual items may be discussed prior to a vote being taken.

1. Ratification of Expulsion (Dr. Murphy)

The School Board, according to the Code of Laws for South Carolina Section 59-63-240, is authorized to expel students from school. Although the Board may receive recommendations for expulsion from others, it is solely empowered to take the final expulsion action.

2. Out of District Transfer Requests – Transfers Out (Mrs. Meek)

Board Policy JFABC allows the Aiken County Board of Education to arrange with other school districts for the interchange of students. The policy stipulates that when students transfer out of the District, “the School District of Aiken County shall assume no responsibility for tuition to the receiving district.”

3. Football Uniform Donation to Schofield Middle School – FY26 (Dr. Edwards)

Schofield Middle School’s athletic program has received a donation of new football uniforms (pants and jerseys) valued at $3,788.76 through the efforts of some of the parents of the football team.

4. Submission of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts (CKH) Foundation Grant Application by Aiken County Public School District – FY26 (Dr. Edwards)

The Instructional Services Division of the Aiken County Public School District is requesting to submit a grant application in the amount of $11,300.00 to the Capturing Kids’ Hearts Foundation to support the district’s implementation of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program. If awarded, the grant would provide support services as part of the District Premium package, at no additional cost. This includes access to a strategist, district-wide reporting, recurring leadership team huddles, one-day district traction visit, and resources to support implementation.

5. Gregg-Graniteville Foundation, Inc. Donation to Midland Valley High School – FY26 (Dr. Edwards)

Midland Valley High School’s DECA program has received a $3,500.00 donation from Gregg-Graniteville Foundation, Inc. The funds will be used to assist with the costs associated with the Annual DECA Conference such as registration, hotel accommodation, plane tickets, ground travel, food, and other incidentals.

6. Sertoma Club of North Augusta Donation to Aiken County Public School District – Division of Operations and Student Services – FY26 (Dr. Yarborough)

The Sertoma Club of North Augusta has donated $10,000.00 to Aiken County Public School District Division of Operations and Student Services for the purchase of student handheld microphones. These microphones will expand the Audio Enhancement technology in classrooms, allowing students to engage and participate in the classroom discussions and ensuring all students can hear what is being said.

7. Charles E. Ferguson III Donation to Aiken Elementary School – FY26 (Dr. Edwards)

Aiken Elementary School has received a $1,500.00 donation from Charles E. Ferguson III. The funds are to be used to contribute to programs and activities which help students, faculty, and staff. The funds will be used to purchase items such as supplies for teacher celebrations, building beautification projects, student incentives, outdoor classroom supplies, classroom supplies, backpack program supplies and gifts for students.

8. Charles E. Ferguson III Donation to Aiken County Public School District – Department of Student Services – FY26 (Dr. Yarborough)

The Aiken County Public School District Department of Student Services has received a $1,500.00 donation from Charles E. Ferguson III. The funds are donated to the 2025-2026 Bike Drive and will be used for the purchase of bicycles for the program.

9. Change Order Number 1 – 2023 Demolition of the Old Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary/Middle (Dr. Yarborough)

Change Order Number 1 reflects unused allowances for the demolition of the old Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary/Middle

Change Order Number 1:

Unused Allowances: <$56,000.00>

Credit Amount: <$56,000.00>

Total Change Order Amount: <$56,000.00>

10. GMP #1 for football field turf, track resurfacing, a digital scoreboard with a video display, goal posts, and twenty-five second clocks at South Aiken High School (Dr. Yarborough)

Replacement of the existing grass field with new artificial turf, resurfacing of the existing eight lane track, goal posts, a Daktronics scoreboard with a video display and a sound system, and twenty-five second game clocks at South Aiken High School. The GMP for this project is $2,637,746.00. This project will be completed using a combination of 8% cyclic maintenance funds and 2024 1% funds.

11. Schematic Design plans and preliminary budget for the South Aiken High School Renovation/Addition Project (Dr. Yarborough)

The administration has completed the scope of educational needs for the South Aiken High School renovation and addition. The architectural firm Cheatham Fletcher Scott Architects (CFS) has utilized this scope to produce schematic design plans and preliminary budget for the renovation and addition. The estimated construction budget is $49,789,250. The overall budget includes design, advertising, FFE, and owner contingency for a total of $65,000,000. The scope of this work includes a new addition and renovation of the existing campus and use of 2024 1% funds.

12. Design Development Drawings and budget for the Wagener-Salley High School Athletic Complex and Crescent City Park (Dr. Yarborough)

The administration, in conjunction with McMillian Pazdan Smith (MPS) Architecture, has completed the Design Development Documents for the Wagener-Salley High School Athletic Complex. The current estimated construction budget is $13,258,974. The overall budget includes design, advertising, FFE, and owner contingency for a total of $15,645,589. The scope of work would be building a new sports complex and Crescent City Park at Wagener-Salley High School. The project will be completed using 8% funds.

13. Design Development plans and preliminary budget for the North Augusta High School Auditorium Renovation/Addition Project (Dr. Yarborough)

The administration has completed the scope of educational needs for the North Augusta High School Auditorium Renovation/Addition Project. The architectural firm McMillan Pazdan Smith (MPS) Architecture has utilized this scope to produce design development plans and preliminary budget for the auditorium. The estimated construction budget is $9,587,017. The overall budget includes design, advertising, FFE, and owner contingency for a total of $11,222,707. The scope of this work includes a new addition and renovation of the existing auditorium. The project will be funded using 2014 1% funds.

14. Schematic Drawings and Budget for the Silver Bluff High Renovation/Addition Project (Dr. Yarborough)

The administration, in conjunction with McMillian Pazdan Smith (MPS) Architecture, has completed the Schematic Design Documents for the Silver Bluff High School. The current estimated construction budget is $41,250,000. The overall budget includes design, advertising, FFE, and Owner Contingency for a total of $55,000,000. The scope of work would be to build new additions at Silver Bluff High School and minimal renovations of existing classrooms. The project will be funded using 2024 1% funds.

15. Items to be Declared Surplus and Method of Disposal (Mr. Traxler)

Miscellaneous school furnishings and equipment have been screened and determined to be obsolete and no longer of use to the District. Board approval is requested for the disposal of these items (ACPSD Procurement Code Article 15 Supply Management Sections 3810 and 3820).

C. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: The following items are for information only and do not require Board Action.

1. Construction documents and guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the Belvedere Elementary School addition project (Dr. Yarborough)

The administration has completed the scope of educational needs for the Belvedere Elementary School addition. The architectural firm Cheatham Fletcher Scott Architects (CFS) has utilized this scope to produce construction documents and the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the addition. The construction budget is $8,664,193. The overall budget of $9,891,468. The scope of this work includes a new addition at the existing campus. The project will be funded through a combination of the remaining $90 million bond proceeds, currently $9.1 million with the balance covered by 8% funds.

2. Construction Status Reports for the New Aiken County Career and Technology Center Project (Dr. Yarborough)

In an effort to keep the Board current on the status and budget of this school construction project, the Architects for this project, Goodwyn Mills and Cawood (GMC), and the Administration prepare a monthly status report for the Board’s review.

D. INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBERS