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Savannah-Chatham school board reports drop in teacher vacancies, approves boundary changes and several construction contracts
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Summary
At its informal February meeting, Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools staff reported a 3.2 percentage-point drop in teacher vacancies and the board approved boundary changes, named a Groves High JROTC wing, and approved multiple construction and turf contracts (vote tallies not specified).
Sheila Blanco, public information manager for Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools (SCCPSS), summarized highlights from the board's informal February 2026 meeting, including personnel gains and several facility and contracting decisions.
Blanco said the district reduced its teacher vacancy rate by 3.2 percentage points over the past year and credited the employee referral program for producing 162 hires; she also said 34 employees transitioned from classified to certified positions. "The teacher vacancy rate being reduced by 3.2% in the last year," Blanco said, "and the employee referral program resulted in 162 hires and 34 employees transition classified to certified positions." The transcript does not include supporting documentation or vote counts for these personnel items.
The board approved a plan for boundary changes affecting schools in western Chatham County and the Eastern Corridor. The changes involve Bloomingdale Elementary School, Pooler Elementary School, Burley Learning Center, West Chatham Elementary, West Chatham Middle, New Hampstead K-8, Myers Middle School and Hubert Middle; the board did not provide vote tallies in the highlights presented.
Officials also approved naming the JROTC wing at Groves High School for Sgt. Tyrone L. Chisholm, who Blanco said was killed in action in Iraq in November 2005. A separate proposal to name the school district's Board of Education police department annex for former board member Larry Lauer received a first reading; the district said the name will be read into the record again at the board's March meeting before a final vote.
On capital projects, the board approved awarding construction manager-at-risk services for the Hubert Middle School renovation to Samet Corporation with a guaranteed maximum price reported as just over $17,100,000. The board also approved a contract with Carol Daniel Construction Company for the SCCPSS alternative schools renovation project, estimated at nearly $20,500,000; the old Mercer Middle School will house Building Bridges High, Building Bridges Middle, Wings Elementary and a program identified in the transcript as CELA (the transcript did not expand the CELA acronym).
The district approved purchases of artificial turf for baseball and softball fields at district high schools, with the first field scheduled at Savannah High. Blanco said the installation, including allowances for unsuitable soils, was estimated at nearly $4,300,000.
The board recognized Jayla Bullware, a third grader at Garrison School for the Arts, as the student of the month for January. Blanco closed the highlights by directing the public to BoardDocs on SCCPSS's website and the SCCPSS Communications YouTube channel for full agendas and meeting videos.
Votes and formal motion details (mover/second and vote tallies) were not specified in the highlights provided in the transcript. The actions described above reflect approvals and first readings noted during the meeting; the district did not include documentation or recorded roll-call results in the highlights audio that is the basis for this summary. The board scheduled a second reading in March for the police annex naming before a final vote.
