The Thursday June 12, 2025 Carroll County School District Board of Education meeting began promptly at 5:30 p.m. with Board Members Stella Washington Bell, Teresa Vanlandingham, and James Kenneth DeLoach in attendance. Board Members William Downs and Meridith Cobbins were absent from the meeting. Much business was discussed over the duration of the meeting, however the highlights of the meeting are as follows.
During the business section of the agenda, the Board received an update on the recommended changes in district cafeteria meal prices.
“Last month you guys approved a new policy allowing [the cafeteria] to charge the students, and so what this letter does - we need to officially transition from Provision 2 to a paying status and we also need the Board to approve our meal pricing for the school year 25/26,” Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Prestridge introduced the topic of discussion.
“We looked at some other districts, what they were charging, and there’s also a formula that we’re supposed to use to determine our meal prices. So, we used the formula and also wanted to stay in line with other districts, and so we used that to come up with these prices. We also consulted with one of the directors in the Child Nutrition Office at MDE (Mississippi Department of Education) to make sure the prices are in line and we are following the formula correctly. And that’s how we came to these prices,” CFO Prestridge explained.
Following this, the Board had no further questions on the subject. The Board approved the recommended change in district status and cafeteria meal prices for the 2026 fiscal year on a motion made by District 2 Member Vanlandingham and seconded by District 1 Member DeLoach with all present in favor.
The next major matter of business involved the setting of prices for JZ George athletic events for the 2025/26 school year. CFO Prestridge introduced the subject by explaining that according to the auditors the prior year, the Board needed to set gate prices for sports events at the beginning of each fiscal year. She also stated that the district would begin utilizing the GoFan app beginning this upcoming school year. This app would allow patrons of the events to pay for entrance fees as well as concessions fees with a debit/credit card. She clarified that the school would still accept cash at the gate and concessions, however this would allow fans more convenient ways to pay. Prestridge also explained that the GoFan app would charge an additional dollar for use on top of the set cost of tickets. This additional dollar is a service charge from GoFan and is not set by the district. The JZ George athletic event prices for the 2026 fiscal year were approved by the Board on a motion made by Board Member DeLoach and seconded by Board Member Vanlandingham with all present in favor.
The final major matter of the evening was regarding the approval of the district applying for a purchasing card.
“The way the purchasing card program works is the agreement is actually between US Bank and the State of Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, and Carroll County School District will just be a participant in the program. So, we’ll order credit cards through US Bank, but we’re just a participant in the program,” CFO Prestridge introduced the topic.
“It’s used to streamline the process. So, if we use the credit card throughout the month we keep up with all our transactions and we issue one purchase order for all of the transactions on the card; instead of one purchase order every single time it’s used. So, it’s basically a way to make us more efficient. It’s also a way to make it easier for us to purchase things,” Prestridge explained.
She went on to state that the purchasing card could be used for renewing licenses for the school district and things which would normally not accept a check or money order as payment. CFO Prestridge went on to clarify that she would be requesting three credit cards for the district. Upon questioning on the monitoring and safeguarding of the credit cards, she explained the protocol which will be set in place. Prestridge explained that all of the cards would be locked up at the central office and would be allowed for check out when necessary. There will be a log for who is checking out the card and all necessary information from the date and time to what the card will be used for. Upon returning the card, the borrower will be required to sign the card back in and present receipts of any charges made to the card. She also informed the Board that the total credit limit on the card is requested to be set at $25,000 with the transaction limit being set at $5,000. The Board approved the request for applying for a district purchasing card on a motion made by Board Member Vanlandingham and seconded by Board Member DeLoach with all present in favor.
In other news the Board:
• Approved the Agenda with the additions.
• Accepted the Board Meeting minutes for the May 8 and May 20, 2025 meetings.
• Approved overtime and extra pay for May 2025.
• Approved the following business: federal fiscal year 2025-26 IDEA assurances, MOU with MS State Department of Health, property & casualty insurance coverage fiscal year 2026, Team Assure Student Insurance coverage fiscal year 2026, JZ George safety-crisis management plan fiscal year 2026, MES wellness policy fiscal year 2025-26, JZG student athlete handbook fiscal year 2025-26, JZG Band handbook fiscal year 2025-26, pest control services proposal fiscal year 2026, JZG instructional management plan fiscal year 2025-26, quote for E4 (3D) Printers.
• Accepted the financial statements and claims.
