Board approves most personnel items and awards construction-manager contract to CT Taylor; resignation item sees negative votes

The board considered personnel items, vendor contracting and a real-estate resolution during its Dec. 16 meeting and recorded several roll-call votes.

Personnel: The board approved personnel items 6.1–6.7 on a roll-call vote that covered resignations, probationary hires, substitute teacher appointments, supplemental contracts for spring activities and volunteer coaches. The items included retirement notices for long-serving teachers Gwen Myers and Donnell Smalley effective May 29, 2026, and new hires effective Jan. 6 for transportation positions.

Resignation item 6.8: The board considered the resignation of Gary Swartz, teacher, effective Jan. 5, 2026. After discussion and comment, roll-call votes were recorded as follows: Mr. Norris – No; Mr. Gonzales – No; Mrs. Burkett – Abstain; Mrs. Crawford – No; Mr. Ritzenthaler – No. The transcript records those votes; the board did not record an alternate motion or outcome in the transcript beyond the roll call.

Construction contracting and real-estate resolution: The board approved item 8.2 to contract CT Taylor to provide construction-manager-at-risk services for the PreK–8 facility; discussion noted that OFCC and changes in the state budget bill affected contracting timing. The board also approved item 8.3, a resolution to amend the real-estate purchase and exchange agreement to address timing of a second environmental assessment and related conditions from county commissioners.

Recorded outcomes in this meeting thus include approval of personnel items 6.1–6.7, a recorded vote on 6.8 showing multiple negative votes, approval of CT Taylor as construction manager at risk and approval of the 8.3 resolution regarding the purchase agreement.