Southern Columbia board tables Columbia–Montour vocational school budget amid calls for a concrete short-term plan

The Southern Columbia Area School District board on Tuesday tabled the proposed 2026–27 budget for the Columbia–Montour vocational-technical school (VOTE), citing unresolved teacher negotiations, administrative contract issues and a demand from sending-district board members for a firm, short-term plan to address the school’s financial trajectory.

The motion to approve the budget had been made by Jill (board member) and seconded by Drew, but after extended debate the board voted to table the measure. A roll-call vote in favor of tabling the budget was recorded by attending members.

Board members and administrators said they could not comfortably approve a budget while two major contract talks remained unsettled. Curt, administrative director at Columbia Tech, told the board the 2026–27 budget totals about $11.5 million, with roughly $8.7 million coming from the six sending districts and an approximate 4–5 percent requested increase in district contributions. He said the draft relied on position reductions through attrition and contracted services for two administrative roles to reduce payroll costs.

Board members pressed Curt on the status of collective-bargaining negotiations. One member summarized the difference between a factfinder recommendation and the teachers’ demand: "The factfinder amount was to give the teachers a 4 and a half percent salary raise," while the teachers' ask had been characterized in discussion as a much higher first-year weighted request. Board members warned that any retroactive pay (retropay) or a larger settlement could quickly eliminate the district’s fund balance.

Several board members also criticized how the Site Logic study of VOTE’s delivery model had been handled. Multiple directors said they did not receive prompt access to the full study and that communications about who should see the report were inconsistent. Josh (board member) said the lack of early, clear stakeholder engagement had undermined trust: "If an administrator would have spoken to us that way in a board meeting, I think we'd be in an executive session right now to have a further discussion about that."

Those concerns fed into broader calls for a near-term plan. "I want a recommendation to the sending schools by Dec. 31 of this calendar year so that as we are all starting budget season next year, we are not having this same discussion," one board member said, urging a concrete timeline rather than a multi-year study period.

Public commenters at the meeting urged the board not to let financial uncertainty jeopardize students’ access to VOTE. A former student described how the program had provided individualized supports and pathways to graduation and employment. Other community members and advisory-board representatives praised VOTE’s training programs while asking the board and administration to improve facility readiness and local employer partnerships.

Following the vote to table, the board instructed the JOC and VOTE leadership to prepare a clear plan and timeline for stakeholder engagement and decision points; they agreed to advertise a special meeting the last business day of the month to review any proposal and still meet the July 1 calendar constraint if possible.

The motion to table allows the board to revisit the exact same budget when a targeted plan is presented; it does not immediately change employee pay or operations, though the board’s solicitor warned that delayed approval can affect timing of some paychecks for non‑salaried summer staff. The board emphasized its intent is to keep the vocational program operating and to produce a credible path forward that preserves student access to career-technical programming.

Next steps: the JOC and VOTE administration were asked to deliver a short-term plan to the sending districts and the Southern Columbia board in advance of the special meeting scheduled for June 29 at 6 p.m., and the board said it would consider readvertising and holding a prompt special session if needed to meet notification rules and the July 1 timeline.