Lauderdale County Schools board unanimously approves 2026-27 calendar, contracts, travel and personnel moves

The Lauderdale County Schools Board of Education met on Feb. 6, 2026, and unanimously approved a series of routine agenda items including the 2026-2027 school calendar, district contracts, personnel appointments and several overnight travel requests.

Board President Ronnie Owens presided over the meeting. The board approved the agenda on a 5-0 vote after a motion from Mr. Randy Burns and a second from Mr. Daniel Patterson. There were no public comments during the agenda-limited public-comment period.

Among the items approved was a $6,375.00 payment to vendor Johnson, Paseur, Medley for Invoice 2023 dated Feb. 4, 2026, to be paid from Board General Funds. Mrs. Charlotte Hill moved approval of the payment and Mr. B.J. Tully seconded; the motion passed unanimously.

The consent agenda — approved by Mr. B.J. Tully with a second from Mr. Randy Burns — included minutes from the Jan. 14, 2026, meeting and multiple travel requests. Employee travel approvals included speech pathologists attending the SHAA Conference in Birmingham (Feb. 19–20, 2026) funded from Special Education funds and other staff attending AASBO training and conferences with expenses charged to the appropriate board or local school funds. The board also approved student overnight trips: Central High FCCLA students to the FCCLA State Conference in Montgomery (March 4–6, 2026) and Allen Thornton Career Technical students to the HOSA State Leadership Conference in Montgomery (Feb. 26–27, 2026), among other trips; chaperones and funding sources were recorded in the agenda packet.

The board approved the 2026–2027 school calendar, which had been presented at the Jan. 14 meeting. Mr. Daniel Patterson moved approval; Mrs. Charlotte Hill seconded, and the vote was 5-0.

Personnel actions approved included a slate of volunteer coaches across district schools, leaves of absence and fills for those leaves. The board accepted resignations from supplemental coaching positions effective Feb. 1, 2026 (examples recorded in the packet included Abby Collier, head volleyball at Rogers High, and Phoebe Carter, head track & field at Wilson High). The board approved supplements and stipends for specified positions; the minutes reference step levels (for example, “0–3 Step”) but do not list specific dollar amounts for those supplements in the packet.

District contracts approved by the board covered a range of short-term and consultant positions, including a part-time receptionist, a Child Nutrition Program consultant, a district social worker and several art-substitute contracts with their effective dates noted. The minutes remind that retiree contracts must comply with the state’s post-retirement yearly limits.

The board approved employing classified staff as listed; among the hires recorded was David Koegi as a bus driver at Central High, effective Feb. 2, 2026. The next regular board meeting was set for Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

The board voted to go into executive session and later voted to return to regular session; both motions passed on recorded 5-0 votes. The meeting was adjourned by a unanimous vote.

Votes at a glance: agenda approval (motion: Burns; second: Patterson) — approved 5-0; payment to Johnson, Paseur, Medley ($6,375) (motion: Hill; second: Tully) — approved 5-0; consent agenda (motion: Tully; second: Burns) — approved 5-0; 2026-27 calendar (motion: Patterson; second: Hill) — approved 5-0; volunteer coaches, leaves, contracts and hiring motions — each approved 5-0 as recorded in the minutes.

The minutes do not record any public objections or abstentions on the listed items, and several approvals reference agenda packets for full lists of names, dates and funding sources.