The Lawrence County School Board adopted its 2025–26 budget and approved multiple capital and operating expenditures during its May 29 regular session.

The board approved the 2025–26 budget in a roll-call vote with five ayes from board members Adams, Alexander, Daniel, Dryden and Watson. The vote followed a brief review and no recorded objections.

Board members also approved several spending items tied to the district's capital projects and operating needs. The board authorized a $27,490 replacement of an HVAC unit in the Summertown High School gym locker room (vendor: Arctic Air), approved classroom furniture purchases for the Summertown renovation, and approved a campus paving contract for Lawrence County High School expected to begin this summer. A farmland lease for the South Lawrence Elementary property, awarded to Mr. Heaman, passed by voice vote; the lease will pay the district about $3,500 a year.

The board voted to approve the capital and operating items by roll call when required. The record shows the Summertown HVAC unit, classroom furniture and LCHS paving all passed with five aye votes. Consent items A–E also were approved as a group by voice vote earlier in the meeting.

Superintendent and staff updates indicated that one line item on the agenda — a $32,000 allocation for districtwide summer school supplies funded by a summer learning camp grant — had been removed before the vote because district staff were able to source materials at lower cost and had already purchased them, keeping the purchase under the $25,000 threshold that would have required board approval. The director reported the district saved about $5,000 on that purchase.

The board also approved the annual differentiated pay plan required by the state and the list of sport co-op agreements for students who join teams at other schools when their home school does not field a team. Those items were presented as routine annual approvals and passed without recorded opposition.

Discussion and next steps
Board members asked routine implementation questions during the motions and received staff assurances about funding sources. The Summertown furniture purchases were described as part of ongoing renovations to return the high school to its original location; staff said the purchases came in under the budget allocated for those renovations. The LCHS paving contract was described as the district’s largest single parking-lot paving effort this summer and will be funded from the district’s capital projects budget.

No formal appeals or motions to reconsider were raised at the meeting; the successful votes finalize the actions the board approved on May 29.

What remains notable
The board’s capital spending approvals are part of several active projects across the district and were presented alongside contractor updates on field, restroom and renovation work. Staff said some projects remain on tight timelines to be completed before the start of the school year. The farmland lease will be monitored by district staff and a new fence is planned near the playground at South Lawrence Elementary as part of site safety work.