The Columbia County School Board on Aug. 26 held a public hearing that drew no speakers, approved personnel recommendations and the consent agenda by voice vote, and discussed transportation outreach and the district's preliminary enrollment count.

The public hearing opened with the board chair saying the advertised policies would be considered and asking whether anyone in the audience wished to address them; when no one stepped forward the chair said, "Does anyone in the audience want to address them? If not, this conclude our public hearing." The board then opened its regular meeting at 6 p.m.

Why it matters: the personnel and consent votes finalize routine staffing and administrative items the board must approve to operate schools; enrollment counts discussed by the superintendent affect state funding because funding is tied to full-time-equivalent (FTE) counts.

Board action: An unnamed board member moved and another board member seconded to close and adopt the meeting agenda with the addendum; the motion carried on a voice vote. The board later moved and seconded to approve the personnel items and to accept the consent agenda with the addendum; both motions carried on voice votes with members responding "aye." Individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the transcript.

Discussion and requests: During board member comments, Dana Brady, a board member, welcomed returning staff member Ms. Penner, saying, "Welcome back, Ms. Penner." Several board members thanked district staff for a presentation earlier in the day about plans involving Columbia High and related district opportunities; specific presenters were not named in the formal minutes portion of the transcript.

Superintendent remarks and operational notes: The superintendent (referred to in the meeting as Dr. Laney) said, "Everything's in order tonight," and later described transportation staff efforts to identify students who had been walking long distances to school. The superintendent thanked Daniel Taylor and other transportation staff, saying bus drivers and staff located students who had been walking past the two-mile range and arranged pickups. The superintendent credited ongoing work over several months and said staff would continue outreach to get students "off the roads."

Enrollment and funding: Board member Miss Hill asked for an enrollment update and requested the information be provided to board members if not available at the meeting, saying, "Can you give us an update, if you don't have it now, if you can just send it to us? I was curious about enrollment." The superintendent replied that the district's current count is not yet finalized for funding purposes and that FTE certification will determine the funded number; she said she would make sure the board receives the FTE update. The transcript includes an unclear enumerated figure for the district count (quoted as "we're at 80 we're 80 3 44"), and the superintendent noted some students are VPK registrants who are not funded until FTE certification; the exact funded head count was not specified in the meeting.

Other notes: Board members expressed appreciation for staff assistance and for a commemorative gift presented to a board member; Miss Swisher was thanked for arranging the item. The meeting adjourned after the board's routine business and comments.

Ending: The actions taken were procedural approvals and requests for follow-up information; the board did not take policy votes or adopt new ordinances during the session recorded in this transcript.