Haywood County Schools board approves contracts, insurance, budget amendment and several facilities items

The Haywood County Schools Board approved a set of routine operational and financial items at the meeting, including contracts for student services, three insurance policies, a budget amendment, policy second readings and several building-and-grounds actions.

Contracts and student services: Staff presented and the board unanimously approved renewals and new agreements to support students with medical and behavioral needs. The board approved a renewal with BAYADA Healthcare for nursing services; a consulting agreement with Kelly Warner for coaching and professional development for special education staff; a contract with Positive Behavior Support Corporation to provide applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy for students with autism or other needs in the classroom; and an annual pro bono contract with Dr. Michael Brown to enable Medicaid billing for therapy services. All four motions passed by unanimous voice vote.

Policies and governance: The board approved 20 policies on second reading that had been presented at a first reading previously. Separately, eight policies presented as first reads were tabled for 30 days for public input and will be posted on the district website for review.

Finance and insurance: The finance committee's monthly financial reports were presented and accepted. The board approved budget amendment number 9 for FY 2024–25. The board also approved 2025–26 insurance purchases: general liability/property/auto/workers' compensation with SIRDI insurance at a cost of $302,819.13 (approximately a 10% increase from the prior year, with reported broader coverage), student accident/athletic/catastrophic insurance with Young Group at a cost of $25,385, and cyber insurance with Chubb at a cost of $11,132 (a reported savings of about $13,000 and possibly improved coverage). All insurance items were approved unanimously.

Building and grounds actions: The board approved several items from the building and grounds committee. Trustees approved a public auction to surplus 61 school food-service items rather than listing each item individually on an online government auction platform. The board approved installation of a chicken coop at the Haywood Community Learning Center at no cost to Haywood County Schools; trustees discussed whether eggs might eventually be sold but no sales policy was adopted. The board approved the Bonzett roof replacement at Meadowbrook Elementary School gym to be paid from insurance. The board also moved to amend a prior June 9, 2025 motion concerning the Meadowbrook gym floor replacement so that payment would come from insurance and capital outlay funds in the amount of $114,618; that amendment motion was seconded on the record.

Votes and process: Most motions were moved and seconded on the record and carried by unanimous voice vote. Where individual movers or seconders were named in the transcript, those names are included in the article's action records; otherwise actions were recorded as unanimously approved without a roll-call tally. No motions failed or were tabled beyond the first-read policies, and the board did not attach additional implementation conditions to the approved contracts or insurance procurements during the meeting.

Administrative context: Several presenters noted these were routine annual renewals or standard procurements tied to operational needs during the upcoming school year. The policy committee chair said policy updates align with legislative changes at the state level and that first-read items will be open for public comment before final action.