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Budget amendments: committee approves county personnel and grant adjustments and school district amendments including bonuses and athletics lighting
Summary
County staff and school officials won committee approval for a set of county budget amendments and multiple school budget adjustments that reassign personnel lines, record a federal SAMHSA grant, fund school safety software, bonuses for noncertified staff, and athletic‑field lighting.
County and Coffee County Schools budget amendments received committee approval on Sept. 25, 2025. County staff presented three county amendments (personnel reassignments for recovery court and circuit court part‑time positions; and budget adjustments to accommodate a federally funded substance abuse/mental health services grant), and school officials presented multiple K‑12 budget amendments that the committee approved in a single vote.
County amendments: Mariana (county fiscal staff) explained she moved $20,000 into part‑time personnel for a drug recovery court position and reallocated $19,005.50 that had been budgeted for a circuit court officer to county part‑time staffing after the sheriff assumed the officer duties. Mariana also presented adjustments to a SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) grant for family treatment court administration; staff said the SAMHSA funding is fully federal and does not cost the county and only required appropriation language to reflect personnel funded by that grant.
School amendments: Coffee County Schools officials outlined several items. The school system will use about $48,000 from fund balance — combined with a state safety grant — to purchase Rafter safety software for school check‑in systems and related safety functions. The district received a hard‑to‑staff state grant to retain and hire school psychologists. The board also plans to transfer about $251,000 in restricted TISA outcome funds (state test/score‑based funds from 2023) into the current school year for instructional purposes, tutoring, professional development and ACT/secondary planning. The district also proposed an $818,000 appropriation from fund balance to provide $2,000 bonuses to eligible noncertified employees (custodians, cafeteria staff, paraprofessionals) to be paid in December; school staff said certified employees’ bonuses had been covered previously by state funds.
School capital: The school board presented a capital request to install new lighting at athletic fields across the district; the bid package and drawings were complete and the project budgeted at about $1.4 million from restricted capital funds and existing capital balance.
Committee action: Committee members voted to approve the county amendments and the consolidated school amendments. The committee chair abstained from the school vote; all other members voted aye.
Why it matters: The county amendments reassign existing personnel lines and formally record federal grant personnel so the county can draw funds; the school amendments shift restricted state funds and fund balance dollars to targeted safety, instructional and capital uses that affect staff compensation and facilities across the district.
