Haywood County Schools board renews consulting contract, approves budgets and personnel policies; rehearing appeal fails

At a regularly scheduled Haywood County Schools Board meeting, trustees voted to renew a consulting contract to continue planning for a potential new high school, approved a range of budget amendments and personnel-policy changes, authorized out-of-state cheerleading trips and a kitchen equipment purchase, and declined a requested rehearing of a disciplinary hearing authority decision.

The board approved renewal of a consulting contract with Southern Educational Strategies to continue due-diligence and planning work connected to a proposed 200,000-square-foot high school and related site work. Dr. Mitchell of Southern Educational Strategies told the board the firm has completed surveys and is coordinating environmental, traffic and site studies; he said, "I want to congratulate this board and your staff on what you've accomplished." The firm’s engagement includes next steps that the board was told are likely to stretch into September and beyond as environmental and traffic studies complete and architects and construction managers are selected.

Board members were also briefed on financing steps the district will need to take if it decides to proceed with the property: the consultants advised that USDA financing requires the project to be complete before final USDA loan disbursements and that separate applications may be needed for land acquisition and for construction. The consultants said architects and a construction manager (with substantial bonding capacity) will be required, invoices from designers will begin once hired, and district procedures for timely monthly payments should be in place to avoid payment delays.

In other action, the board:

- Denied a motion to rehear a disciplinary hearing authority decision. The motion to rehear was made and seconded; in a roll-call vote shown on the record, Miss Reed voted no, Miss Farrington voted yes, Mr. VanStory voted no and Mr. Curry voted no; the motion failed.

- Approved the renewal of the Southern Educational Strategies contract. The motion to renew was moved by Mr. Reed and seconded by Mr. Van Stewart; the board voted in favor and the motion carried.

- Voted to grant tenure to John Wilson. A motion to award tenure passed by voice vote.

- Approved two overnight, out-of-state varsity cheerleading trips: to the University of Mississippi, June 24–27, and to the UCA camp at the University of Tennessee at Martin, July 7–10.

- Adopted multiple personnel and administrative changes: first-and-final reading approval of policy 2.802 (payroll procedures) to move to districtwide direct deposit; policy 5.302 (sick leave) and policy 5.31 (vacation and holidays), each changed so employees must work a full month before earning those leaves; and new job descriptions for bus monitors and in-school suspension (ISS) monitors.

- Approved several contract renewals and purchases: renewal of the Teaching Upbeat Incorporated contract for teacher climate surveys; purchase of an indoor walk-in freezer/cooler for Haywood High School from Jackson Restaurant Supply in the amount of $50,045.59 (the packet notes the vendor was a single source bidder); and appointment of additional disciplinary hearing authority substitutes (Dr. Jackson and JV Blocker).

- Approved the district’s consolidated application for federal funds (IDEA and ESEA) for fiscal year 2025–26 and a set of year-end and program budget amendments across the general school purpose fund, federal projects fund and central cafeteria fund. School staff said the amendments move existing lines to cover teacher and assistant salaries and other operational needs and that no fund balance was used to make these adjustments.

Board staff and administrators provided updates and context during the meeting. Consultants described the high-school site work as at the due-diligence stage: topographical surveys are complete, environmental and traffic studies remain pending, and consultants suggested the full set of due-diligence reports may not be available until around September. Consultants and staff emphasized the district must decide whether to accept the property after receiving those reports and then pursue the necessary resolutions and financing steps. The consultants told the board that a construction manager on a large project should have significant bonding capacity and that the district should expect guaranteed maximum price proposals after the design development and construction-document phases.

Director and facilities reports noted summer programs and facility work: about 328 students were enrolled in summer school, playground replacements are scheduled with installation expected in July (installation timing dependent on contractor schedules and weather), and abatement work tied to security and renovation projects has been completed and followed by staff training on asbestos handling. The facilities update said some building security and construction work will continue after the start of school and that staff and contractors have been vetted for background checks. The superintendent’s office also reported PowerSchool sign-in statistics (about 226,523 total sign-ins by June 9) and noted past reimbursement received under a paid parental-leave law (seven teachers reimbursed in 2023–24; two teachers in the current year for roughly $21,000).

Meeting procedure and next steps: consultants recommended the district keep the RFQ process for architects and engineers active; staff asked the board to consider timely procedures for paying invoices once construction begins; and administrators said the board may need to pass formal resolutions later if it decides to apply for USDA financing for property purchase and construction.

Ending: Board members scheduled to reconvene for final year-end budget action and other items; several items were deferred or set for future meetings, including a full organizational chart on the July agenda.