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Lexington 1 board approves up to $1 million in fund balance to hire nine assistant principals
Summary
The Lexington 1 Board of Trustees voted April 29 to assign up to $1,000,000 from fund balance as a contingency to add nine assistant principal full‑time equivalents for the 2025–26 school year, after a discussion about staffing needs, hiring timing and performance metrics.
The Lexington 1 Board of Trustees voted April 29 to assign up to $1,000,000 from the district fund balance and approve nine assistant principal full‑time equivalents (FTEs) as a supplemental contingency to the 2025–26 general fund operating budget.
Board Chair Kathy Henson led the meeting. Trustee Shealy moved the contingency request; Trustee McCown seconded the motion and the board approved it without recorded opposition.
The board’s staff explanation centered on recruiting timing and staffing needs. Dr. Price, identified at the meeting as a district staff member, told trustees the positions were discussed during the budget workshop and were intended to expand administrative capacity at multiple levels. “In order to have the richest applicant pool, the earlier we get started with these types of hires, the better,” Dr. Price said. He described the nine FTEs as five high‑school positions, three for middle schools that currently have two assistant principals instead of three, and one elementary expansion of a pilot program at Pillion Bridal.
Dr. Price described duties for the new assistant principals: attending individualized education program (IEP) and Section 504 meetings, helping with teacher evaluations, and reducing discipline workloads so principals can increase classroom observations and coaching. He said the district would track performance metrics, modeled on a pilot administrator program at Pillion Bridal, and report progress to the board during the year.
Trustee Pizzuti asked for a follow‑up review of the new positions. “This time next year, we kind of get a follow‑up to make sure that these physicians have helped the way that, you know, they’ve looked into what they’ve been presented by,” Pizzuti said, requesting performance follow‑up (quote reflects speaker’s phrasing in the meeting). Trustees on the dais also said principals and teachers had requested additional assistant principals during listening sessions and budget workshops.
Trustee McCown noted a discrepancy between published public materials and the motion on the floor: public content showed 12 positions (listed as three middle, eight high school and one elementary), while the motion before the board covered nine positions. “I just want to make sure we clarify so we don't see ourselves on Facebook about they said this and they did this,” she said. The board clarified that the vote covered nine positions and that the public materials would be reviewed for consistency.
Board members said assigning fund balance would not require a tax increase. One trustee noted community questions about fund balance size and said the request addresses staffing needs without raising millage.
The motion passed. Trustees said the district would bring performance data and updates during the 2025–26 school year.
The board also announced an interim meeting for May 6 and the next regular meeting on May 20.
