Muhlenberg County school board approves purchases to replace stolen pickup, trailers and mowers; tables South Elementary posting

The Muhlenberg County Schools board voted during its meeting to approve purchases replacing district equipment taken in a reported theft and to take personnel actions, while tabling one school-level posting for additional review.

Board members approved buying a 2024 Dodge 2500 pickup to replace a vehicle that was stolen and that the district said is needed to tow a trailer. The bid price discussed in the meeting was reported as $43,001.52; a transcript line also recorded a rounded figure of $43,152. The motion to approve the pickup was made by Mr. Johar and seconded by Miss Bard and carried with verbal “aye” votes; the transcript does not include a roll-call tally by name.

The board also approved purchasing two trailers to replace stolen trailers: a 20-foot covered trailer and a 17-foot trailer. During discussion, staff said one trailer has a stronger axle intended for carrying heavy equipment. The two trailer line-item prices reported in the meeting were $16,001.76 and $16,004.39; the transcript records a reported total of $31,615 and other nearby arithmetic figures, but the two quoted line-item prices are the specific amounts provided by staff. Mr. Porter moved to approve the trailers; Mr. Johar seconded, and the motion carried on verbal “aye” votes with no roll-call in the record.

The board approved replacing four grass‑hopper style mowers that had been stolen. Staff said the replacements will be equivalent to four new mowers the district purchased last year; the total cost discussed was $55,129. A motion to approve the mower purchases passed by verbal vote after a motion and second.

A personnel item to post a media specialist aide position at Muhlenberg South Elementary was tabled because a job description had not been provided. Board member Mr. Lyle recommended tabling the item until the board had the written job description; a motion to table carried unanimously on verbal “aye” votes in the meeting record.

Separately, the board approved an early posting for a Payroll Clerk II position at the central office after one Payroll Clerk II resigned. Mr. Lyle explained the early posting would allow the district to hire and provide on‑site training before the current employee leaves, saying, “I would recommend that the board approve the early posting” to permit overlap and training. The motion to approve the early posting was seconded and carried by verbal vote.

The meeting record shows motions, seconds and verbal “aye” responses for each approval, but it does not provide a roll‑call or individual vote tally for those votes.