The Riverside Local School District board voted to award a $3,065,365 construction contract to Roof Connect Logistics Inc. (dba Roof Connect) for roofing upgrades at Riverside High School, J.R. Williams Junior High, Lamuth Middle, Parkside Elementary and Riverview Elementary.

Roof Connect’s representative described a paired approach: the company would install new 25‑year, water‑resilient roofing and a solar investor would place panels under a power‑purchase agreement (PPA). The vendor said the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) rebates created a short window of opportunity, enabling a 30% rebate mechanism that would return roughly $1 million to the district on the district’s contribution as soon as the solar project is interconnection‑complete.

Board members raised multiple concerns during the discussion: the contract language requiring payment "in full within 3 business days of signing," an irrevocable cancellation penalty of 50% of contract price, uncertain timing of the IRA rebate, whether the district would be allowed to pay for work prior to receipt of all deliverables, and the fact that the investor’s identity was not disclosed at the meeting. Treasurer/finance staff warned that a separate proposed transfer of $4.6 million to restore PI funds (from the earlier consultant recommendations) combined with a county property‑tax relief reduction of about $1.2 million annually could materially affect the general fund and make an operating levy necessary in near term fiscal planning.

Some trustees, including those who voted against the contract, said they were uncomfortable making a large, late‑breaking procurement decision without prior buildings‑and‑grounds committee review, full PPA paperwork and clearer investor commitments. Supporters pointed to engineering assessments showing aging roofs and argued the combined roofing/solar opportunity could provide long‑term savings (district staff estimated at least $2 million in avoided future electric costs over time and engineers’ estimates of $7–8 million to replace all roofs conventionally).

The transcript records recorded board votes as the motion carried 3–2. The vendor representative said a PPA agreement would be provided by the end of the meeting and asserted construction and interconnection steps could be completed within roughly a year, subject to utility interconnection timing.

The board did not publicly disclose the investor name during the meeting and deferred further financial modeling; treasurer and staff said they would incorporate the contract and any rebate timing into the five‑year forecast and report back with liquidity and levy implications before any transfer of general‑fund reserves.