School board amends and approves director of schools contract, increasing leave and narrowing vehicle tax language

The Jefferson County School Board unanimously approved an amended contract for the director of schools after a pair of member-proposed changes to paid leave and automobile policy.

Chester Hart moved to amend the contract’s vacation/personal leave provision to increase the allowance to 25 days; the motion was seconded and carried. Hart then proposed removing the sentence in section 6(a) that read, “It is the director’s responsibility to pay any and all taxes that may arise out of the use of the board’s vehicle.” The board voted to strike that sentence and replaced the automobile allowance language with: “The board shall provide the director with a board-owned vehicle for routine daily personal use.”

A subsequent amendment clarified limited out-of-county use for board business. After the amendments were incorporated, the board returned to the main motion to accept the director’s contract and approved the amended contract by unanimous vote.

Board members discussed the practical effect of the vehicle language. One member noted the revised wording requires that travel outside the county be tied to “business of the board,” a limitation some members said would prevent casual personal stops while using the vehicle. Another member raised a procedural question about whether a struck clause could be reinserted as a separate amendment; members proceeded instead by offering the clarified language and voting on it.

The meeting record shows the contract discussion and amendments began at SEG 315 and continued through SEG 504. The board did not record named roll-call votes in the transcript excerpt provided; the chair repeatedly characterized outcomes as unanimous during votes.

The board did not state additional fiscal impacts for the leave increase or vehicle-related costs during the discussion as recorded in the transcript.