Pepsi gets WP school vending contract

The West Plains School District board of education swore in members and reorganized during their April meeting. Cindy Tyree and Sam Riggs were sworn in as board members following the April election. Though the district did announce the positions were up for reelection last year, no person ran against the pair, making Tyree and Riggs the default winners.

 

As part of the school board reorganization that follows elections, Tyree was reelected as board president and Reid Grigsby was reelected as vice president. Sam Riggs was approved as MSBA Delegate and Brian Mitchell, who was present in the meeting via phone, was chosen as the alternate. Erica Jones was approved as board secretary and Wesley Davis as board treasurer.

 

The open meeting began much later than usual, starting 8 pm instead of 6:30 pm, due to the CSIP meeting that began at 5 pm. After being in meetings so long, the administrative reports were given quickly and the entire open session lasted less than thirty minutes. The board approved the certified and non-certified salary schedule step advancement for the 2025-2026 school year. The motion was made by Shealia Harper, seconded by Jodi Purgason, and approved unanimously.

 

The board approved a bid from Pepsi MidAmerica for vending services. Pepsi and Coca-Cola had placed bids for vending services for the school. Matthew Orchard told the board the bids had been evaluated on the length of contract, proposed scholarship amounts to students, commissions, ability to fulfill vending requirements, financial commitments, and the feasibility of the district to fulfill volume requirements. He recommended the Pepsi bid on a 5-year contract. The motion was made by Christena Silvey Coleman and seconded by Harper.

 

In closed session, the board discussed district employment vacancies. In total, eighteen vacancies were listed. These included bus drivers, custodians, science and study skills teachers for the high school, FACS teacher for SMTI, and multiple coaching and sponsor positions.

 

The West Plains School Board of Education will meet again on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.