Coffee County Board approves consent agenda, selects 2025 officers and approves personnel after executive session

The Coffee County Board of Education approved its consent agenda, selected its 2025 board officers and approved personnel recommendations after an executive session during its regular meeting on Jan. 24, 2025.

Board business and approvals were front-loaded at the regular meeting following a public hearing. The board approved the consent agenda by motion and voice vote; items included minutes from prior meetings, the district’s financial report through Dec. 31, 2024, the proposed 2025–26 school calendar and several technology purchases submitted for E-rate funding consideration.

Finance staff reported the district’s general fund balance at roughly $36.15 million and noted year-to-date revenues and expenditures through Dec. 31, 2024. The board reviewed a monthly comparison showing revenues and expenditures versus prior years; finance staff said revenues through December were up compared with the same period last year. The financial report was presented by district finance staff and placed on the consent agenda.

District technology staff outlined planned E-rate purchases included in the consent package: a secondary broadband connection priced at about $54,100 per year (district portion reduced significantly by E-rate discounts), a firewall premium-support renewal priced at $7,427.84 with a local cost reported as $3,260.83, and a Wi‑Fi license renewal and upgrade quoted at about $100,000 with an expected local share around $15,000 after the E-rate Category 2 funding. Technology staff said the additional Internet path provides a different provider for true redundancy; the firewall subscription includes hot-swap support and advanced protection; and the Wi‑Fi license upgrade adds stability and AI-assisted management for the network.

The board also approved the proposed 2025–26 school calendar (178 student days, 190 staff days) as presented; the primary change from the prior draft was converting an early-release parent-teacher day into a full professional learning and parent-teacher conference day with no student attendance, to avoid half-day attendance drops that affect accountability calculations.

After consent business, the board moved into executive session to discuss personnel matters. Following the executive session the board approved the personnel list by motion and voice vote; the transcript records the motion, second and an affirmative voice vote but does not specify individual personnel details publicly.

Ending

Board members said they will return for scheduled work and retreat dates in March to continue planning. The board did not take any additional policy votes at this meeting beyond the items described above.