Pickens County Board gives initial OK to FY26 budget, approves broker RFP and multiple policy items

The Pickens County Board of Education on Sept. 11 gave initial approval to the district's FY26 budget, awarded a real-estate broker contract via RFP, and approved or moved forward multiple policy items during its regular meeting.

The board approved the FY26 initial budget by voice vote; board staff said initial approval is required so the district can file the budget’s detailed submission to the state by Sept. 17. Superintendent Dr. Thomas told the board the final digest from the county tax commissioner was still pending and that any material revenue changes would require a budget amendment later.

Board members also approved RFP number 2025-003 for real estate broker services and identified the selected firm as DTS Paid (the RFP award was described as the committee’s recommendation). Dr. Thomas characterized the selection process as "a very, very rigorous process" and said a district committee evaluated three finalists.

Other actions approved or advanced by the board (voice votes; no opposing votes were recorded in the meeting transcript): - Approval of the meeting agenda as presented. - Approval of the personnel action report. - Approval of the FY26 initial budget (initial approval required for state submission). - Approval of the RFP award for real estate broker services (RFP 2025-003) to DTS Paid. - Final approval of five policy revisions brought forward from the August review process: GAEB (employee harassment), JCAC (student harassment), GARH (employee leaves and absences), IFBG (Internet acceptable use), and JB (student attendance). Board staff said there was no public input on those five policies during the review period. - Motions to place three other policies out for public review until the Oct. 9 meeting: JBCD (transfers and withdrawals), IBB (charter schools), and a revision to GBIA (teacher evaluation appeals). - Approval of the consent agenda, which included financial reports, the FY26 CTAE local plan, the FY26 local board training plan, overnight field trips, several minutes entries, and declared surplus CTAE items.

Board Chair Miss Gibson called for voice votes on motions; members seconded and passed items without recorded opposition. Several motions were made and seconded but the transcript did not consistently record the individual mover/second for every motion. Where the transcript named a member in association with a motion or second, the meeting minutes reflect the member’s appearance but the official roll-call tallies were not provided in the public transcript.

Why it matters: The FY26 initial budget approval starts a timeline of public notices and possible later adjustments that depend on the county tax digest. Dr. Thomas noted the tax digest remained unofficial at the time of the meeting and that any significant differences between the digest and budget assumptions would require board amendments.

What’s next: District staff said they will file the FY26 budget with the state by the Sept. 17 deadline and will return to the board with any required amendments once the official tax digest is received and revenue estimates are finalized.