Board Ratifies 2023 Cintas Uniform Deal Never Brought for Approval

Lake Land College | August 17, 2026

Article Summary: Lake Land College trustees on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, retroactively approved a uniform rental and laundering agreement with Cintas Corporation signed in January 2023, capping the total at $145,000 over the five-year term after the business office determined the contract had never come before the board.

Cintas Agreement Key Points:

• Agreement originally signed January 11, 2023, running five years and set to expire January 10, 2028.
• Annual cost averages about $29,000; total contract value estimated at $145,000, which the motion sets as a ceiling.
• Vendor is Cintas Corporation of Terre Haute, Indiana; service covers staff within the Custodial Association as required by the labor agreement.
• Woodruff’s memo states plainly: “It doesn’t appear this has been brought to the Board for approval previously.”

MATTOON — A five-year uniform contract that has been running since January 2023 came before the Lake Land College Board of Trustees for the first time on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026 — roughly three and a half years into its term.

Vice President for Business Services John Woodruff presented the item, which the minutes characterize as “post-signature ratification of a uniform rental and laundering agreement for custodial and maintenance staff originally signed in 2023 — not previously brought to the board.”

Trustees approved it 8-0 on a motion by Trustee Doris Reynolds, seconded by Trustee Chuck Deters.

In his Aug. 5 memo, Woodruff wrote that the college provides uniforms and laundering services for staff within the Custodial Association as required by the labor agreement, that the services are provided by Cintas Corporation of Terre Haute, Indiana, and that “the original agreement signed on January 11, 2023 is a 5 year agreement,” set to expire Jan. 10, 2028. He put the annual cost at about $29,000 and the total contract value at an estimated $145,000, adding: “It doesn’t appear this has been brought to the Board for approval previously.”

The approved motion caps the total at not to exceed $145,000 over the five-year term.

Inside the Agreement

The Standard Rental Service Agreement in the packet is dated Jan. 11, 2023, carries agreement number 210034448 and customer number 11372332, and names the customer as “Lakeland College,” automotive department, Mattoon. It is signed for Cintas by Scott Flack and for the college by the Vice President for Business Services.

The agreement prices uniform items individually — performance polos at 78 cents, cargo pants at 97.9 cents, high image jackets at $2.379, Carhartt stretch denim jeans at 90 cents, hip length jackets at $1.742 — along with emblem pricing and facility services products including soap dispensers and sanitizer stands. Additional charges include a make-up charge of $3.360 per garment, a service charge of $7.06 per delivery, a size change charge of $6.600 per garment, Uniform Advantage at 15 cents per garment, Emblem Advantage at $0.132 and Prep Advantage at $0.072.

The terms state the agreement “shall automatically renew for the same period of time unless Company is notified, to the contrary, in writing, no more than 180 days, but no less than 90 days in advance of the expiration of the then current term.” Early termination by the customer for reasons other than documented quality-of-service failures triggers liquidated damages equal to the greater of 50% of the average weekly invoice total multiplied by the weeks remaining in the unexpired term, or buy-back of all garments at then-current replacement values. The agreement also provides that while in effect, the customer pays a weekly minimum charge equal to 75% of the charges on the initial invoice plus charges for products added later, and that disputes are resolved by binding arbitration on an individual basis.

A checkbox on page two asking whether the customer “is” or “is not a federal, state, or local government branch or agency” appears unmarked in the executed document.

The ratification was one of two items the business office brought forward in August as a transparency measure. Separately, Manager of Bookstore and Course Materials Brittany Johnson-Kroeger’s textbook purchases — $260,399.86 from Cengage, $58,902.15 from McGraw-Hill and $32,128.90 from Pearson — came to the board after the books were already purchased to ensure availability for the semester, with the minutes noting that “going forward, board approval will be sought in June.”