Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Bond topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vicksburg board discusses 2026 bond scope, votes to enter closed session for VEA negotiations update
Summary
At a Dec. 15 special meeting, the Vicksburg Community Schools board reviewed the draft scope for a proposed 2026 bond (including gym usage, safety upgrades, OEC and transportation/maintenance facilities), set a January–February timeline for ballot language, and voted unanimously to enter closed session for a VEA negotiations update under the Open Meetings Act.
Vicksburg Community Schools Board of Education President David Schriemer called a special meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2025, at the district administration building and opened with brief remarks thanking the 2026 bond steering committee for its work.
Superintendent Keevin O'Neill summarized the district's process to date and said, "Today's goal is to discuss ballot language and finalize the scope," before turning the discussion over to consultant Shawn Parshall of Tower Pinkster.
Parshall led the board through the draft project list that the district has been developing for a 2026 bond. The discussion focused on four broad areas: how gymnasiums would be used and configured, safety upgrades across buildings, the OEC (described in meeting materials as a project-area abbreviation), and upgrades or replacement of transportation and maintenance facilities. No final ballot language was approved at the meeting; board members and staff discussed options and trade-offs for the projects on the draft scope.
Board members agreed on a timetable for next steps: bond ballot language will be drafted and brought back to the board for review in January–February 2026, and the board plans a work session in February to provide final education for members about the proposed projects before any decision on placing a bond on the ballot.
With no members of the public present, the board then addressed a procedural item. Board member Tina Forsyth moved, and Lucas Hillard seconded, a motion "to move into closed session for the purpose of VEA negotiations update, as allowed under the Open Meetings Act 15.268, Section 8(c)." The motion carried unanimously by roll-call vote; all seven board members present voted yes. The board entered closed session at 6:57 p.m. and returned to open session and adjourned at 7:39 p.m.
The meeting record notes the Open Meetings Act citation and captures the board's agreement to continue developing bond language in January–February, with a targeted February work session for final review.
