Warren County School Board adopts new science textbooks, approves budget amendments, extends bus contract and funds West Elementary turnaround work

The Warren County Board of Education on Feb. 20 adopted committee recommendations for new K–12 science textbooks, approved a series of budget amendments across several funds, voted to extend its student-transportation contract with Durham School Services for one year and approved a statement of work with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) to support West Elementary.

The textbook committee recommended Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Savvas (listed in the packet as "Savvas Elevate elementary science" for K–5 and "Savvas middle grade science" for grades 6–8) and a set of course-specific texts for grades 9–12. The board voted to adopt the committee's recommendation after a motion and second; the motion carried unanimously.

Why it matters: The textbook adoption sets the instructional materials the district will use across science courses and can affect classroom pacing, teacher training and budgeting for the coming years. The budget amendments reallocated existing funds and established new federal grant line items, affecting how the district pays for travel, staffing and program services.

Board action highlights

- Textbook adoption: The board adopted the science textbook committee's recommendations for K–12 science courses. (Motion by Mr. Judkins; second by Mr. Brown; vote: aye, motion carries.)

- Budget amendments: The board approved several budget amendments: • General Purpose Fund (Fund 141) — Amendment #3 to move $20,500 into travel and $3,500 into contracted services to cover board and director travel and BOE Connect expenses. (Motion by Mr. Bennett; second by Mr. Colwell; vote: aye.) • School Nutrition (Fund 143) — Reallocation of $65,000 (including $20,000 for a new point-of-sale system) across travel, contracted services and staff development lines. (Motion by Mr. Johnson; second by Mr. Judkins; vote: aye.) • Federal funds (Fund 142 and related federal grants) — Multiple reallocations and a small increase for Title III; some programs experienced small decreases tied to enrollment and formula changes. The board approved a package of federal budget amendments. (Motion by Mr. Jenkins; second by Mr. Brown; vote: aye.) • New state grant line (ATSI-related) — The board established a $50,000 fund for targeted ATSI work and approved associated line-item allocations. (Motion by Mr. Bridal; second by Mr. Caldwell; vote: aye.)

- Student transportation: The board voted to exercise the one-year renewal option in the current contract with Durham School Services, keeping Durham as the district's contractor for 2025–26 and buying time to prepare an RFP and possible future changes (Motion by Mr. Johnson; second by Mr. Judkins; vote: aye). Superintendent Grant Swallows and staff said extending one year gives the district time to consider changes such as central fueling and updated bus-age requirements before going back to bid.

- NIET partnership for West Elementary: With ATSI funds newly established in the federal budget, the board approved the statement of work with NIET for West Elementary improvement work (Motion by Mr. Johnson; second by Mr. Caldwell; vote: aye).

What the board said: Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, told the board the district had prepared RFP language and that staff could move quickly if the board chose to go to bid on transportation; he recommended extending the current contract one year as the safest option while work continues on RFP language and fuel/capacity questions.

Next steps: The district will implement the adopted textbook adoptions in line with the committee timeline, move forward with the NIET work at West Elementary, and staff will return to the board as needed with specifics on the transportation RFP timeline and any required budget amendments tied to fuel or contract pricing changes.

Votes at a glance: The decisions listed above were taken by motion and recorded seconds; the public record in the meeting transcript shows aye votes and no recorded roll-call opposition for the items described. The motions, movers and seconders are recorded in the meeting transcript and are included in this article's actions array for reference.