Burke County School Board approves calendar, policies, personnel and budget revisions; FEMA vendor contract discussed and approved

The Burke County Board of Education unanimously approved a package of routine and time‑sensitive items at its Jan. 27 meeting, including the 2025‑26 Burke Middle College calendar, the second reading of several board policies, a personnel report, and budget revisions numbered 7 and 8 dated Jan. 27, 2025.

Why it matters: The calendar and policy approvals set the academic schedule and administrative rules the district will use in the coming year; the budget revisions and vendor approval matter because of ongoing storm recovery work and potential long‑term FEMA reimbursement processes.

The board’s actions included: 1) approval of the meeting agenda at the start of the session, 2) approval of consent items, 3) approval of the Burke Middle College 2025‑26 calendar after a brief staff presentation, 4) approval of the second reading of several board policies, 5) approval of the personnel report, and 6) approval of budget revisions #7 and #8 (dated Jan. 27, 2025). Each motion was made, seconded and approved by voice vote with board members responding “Aye.” No roll‑call tallies by name were recorded in the transcript.

Contract for FEMA assistance: During discussion of post‑storm recovery work staff described the vendor’s role and limits. A staff member said the district is still “assessing the extent of the damage” and that recovery with FEMA “could literally be years.” The same staff member described the vendor’s fee structure as limited to "a 5% recruitment of all FEMA‑recoverable damages," and said the district would return to the board if any costs needed to be front‑funded or would not be recoverable.

Budget detail: Finance staff presented budget revisions numbered 7 and 8 and identified the documents as dated Jan. 27, 2025. The board approved the revisions after a short presentation and a motion to approve.

Other approvals: The board accepted a second reading of district policies after a staff summary and approved the personnel report presented at the meeting.

Ending: Board members closed the meeting after taking public comments and asking whether a closed session was needed. The meeting adjourned after a motion and second; no further action on the FEMA matter or the homeschool eligibility issue was recorded during the meeting.