Board approves budget, contracts and field trips; tables dispute over high‑school parking fees

Columbus County Board of Education members voted on a package of routine and substantive items including the 2025–26 budget resolution, multiple school partnerships, construction and field‑trip contracts and school fundraisers, and they tabled a contested decision about high‑school parking fees until the board’s next meeting.

The board approved the district’s 2025–26 budget resolution, accepted partnership agreements (including an American Heart Association school program and a Duke University memorandum of understanding for a community‑schools initiative), awarded a first‑phase window replacement quote for West Columbus High School, authorized contracts and field trips for several schools and scheduled the annual surplus auction for Oct. 24. Board members voted to table discussion and approval of the proposed school fee schedule (including parking permits) so principals can clarify differences among high schools.

The approvals are part of the board’s regular business items for the new school year and reflect the district’s financial, instructional and operational priorities. The budget resolution sets the district’s authorized appropriations across state, local, federal and special funds and establishes administrative authorities for internal transfers and future amendments.

In action: the board approved the superintendent’s recommendation to adopt the draft testing calendar and a revised 2025–26 school calendar; authorized an agreement with the American Heart Association to bring the Kids Heart Challenge program to participating schools; approved a third‑party vocational rehabilitation services agreement with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; authorized an occupational therapy field‑work agreement with UNC Pembroke; and accepted multiple field‑trip requests for in‑state and out‑of‑state FFA and CDE competitions. The board also approved school fundraisers submitted by district schools.

Votes on many of the items were recorded by motion and customary voice vote; where individual roll‑call tallies were not read into the record the minutes reflect the motion, the mover and the second and the board clerk’s announcement that “the ayes have it.” For one contested topic — school fees, particularly parking permits at some high schools — the board voted to table the item and requested follow‑up information before final approval.

The board also set the date for the district’s annual surplus auction on Oct. 24 and accepted several construction and project invoices for Williams Township School work already performed.

The meeting closed with a motion to enter closed session under North Carolina law to discuss privileged attorney–client matters.