Board Meeting Regular Session - 10/12/2026

At its October 12, 2026 regular session, the Mercer County Board of Education approved several purchasing items. It approved snowplow equipment (the transcript references a roughly $21,000 equipment amount and a separate local installation, though that portion is unclear), a McGraw Hill Corrective Reading purchase for Bluefield Intermediate School through Choice Partners at approximately $22,872, and DOT drug and alcohol testing from Quality Drug Testing at $82.50 per drug test and $25 per alcohol test; the vendor was the only bidder to submit all required documentation. The board also approved accounts payable transactions. Separately, the MCTech ProStart culinary team was recognized for winning a $40,000 competition award intended to help purchase a food truck for the program.

The board tabled consideration of five responses to its RFP for board attorney services so proposals could be checked and reviewed before further action. It also authorized an in-house feasibility study of Sun Valley and Mercer County Early Learning Center as part of discussion about facilities and possible future consolidation; no school closure decision was made. Administrators reported a preliminary enrollment decline of 307 students, with related financial concerns, but no specific budget action was taken on that issue. The board additionally approved a policy on video and audio recording in special education classrooms.