Red Clay board approves school choice invitations, final budget and safety resolution; accepts donations

The Red Clay Consolidated School District Board of Education voted unanimously Feb. 12 to approve its School Choice recommendations for the 2025–26 school year, adopt a final FY25 budget estimate and approve revisions to a Safe and Inclusive School Resolution, among several other items.

The votes came during a regularly scheduled meeting at Richardson Park Auditorium and by hybrid remote access. Board President Matthews presided; Ms. Stevens called roll before the votes were taken.

School choice and invitations

The board approved the school choice recommendations as presented by district staff. The motion to approve was moved by Mr. Wilson and seconded by Kathy Thompson and passed by voice roll call with all members voting in the affirmative. The district reported 3,251 total applications for the most popular entry grades: 457 kindergarten, 1,028 for sixth grade and 1,066 for ninth grade. The district will send 2,052 invitations (1,509 in-district; 599 out-of-district) and reported a 1,165-person waitlist; staff said 320 on the waitlist will receive an invite to a lower-choice school, 401 are Red Clay students who received no invite to any of their choices, and 440 are out-of-district. Parents must accept invitations by March 21 except kindergarten, which remains a rolling application through the first day of school.

Final budget

The board approved the FY25 final budget estimate on a motion by Neesmith, seconded by Susan Sander; the motion passed unanimously. District staff said state Division 1 salary funding (state share for employee salaries and benefits) increased about 8.6% from the preliminary budget because of higher unit counts and state salary scale adjustments. On the local side, staff reported a roughly 0.1% overall change to local expenses, driven primarily by a 4% rise in related-services costs and a 0.5% increase in local salaries due mainly to step increases and workforce changes. The district projects an ending fund balance of approximately $5.5 million and noted this is the first year referendum funds are flowing in and reversing prior deficit spending patterns.

Safe and Inclusive School Resolution and donations

The board approved revisions to the Safe and Inclusive School Resolution by voice vote; the motion was moved by Kathy Thompson and seconded by Miss English. The board also accepted a $25,000 donation from the Eagles Autism Foundation to Joseph B. Johnson Elementary School for sensory-needs improvements (motion: Thompson; second: Nesmith); a $500 donation from Edward Johnvier to the Red Clay girls wrestling program to cover officials, trainer and T-shirts (motion: Wilson; second: Thompson); and $5,000 in gift cards from Albertsons Company (via ACME programs) to distribute to schools as needed (motion: Thompson; second: Wilson). All donations were approved by unanimous voice vote.

Consent agenda and committee items

The consent agenda was approved on a single motion and voice vote; no items were removed for separate consideration. Committee reports and informational items followed; board members noted upcoming meetings and community engagement opportunities.

Why it matters

Approving the final budget establishes the district's spending plan and sets the starting point for operations through the end of the fiscal year; school choice invitations determine placements for more than 2,000 students and influence enrollment and staffing across the district. The DOJ-funded programs and donated funds approved at the meeting will directly affect services and materials at the school level.

What the board did not decide

Board discussion on other policy matters continued and a separate agenda item to revisit board policy 09/2004 was placed on the calendar for committee review and broader public notice; no policy adoption on that topic occurred at this meeting.