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Superintendent says district will defer textbook purchases to protect staffing and will seek state waiver
Summary
Superintendent Bishop told the board the district plans to defer textbook purchases to prioritize employees in a tight budget year and will request a state waiver to permit the deferral; the move was presented as part of near-final budget preparations.
Superintendent Doctor Bishop told the Jefferson County Schools Board of Education that the district has reached a near-balanced budget and will defer purchases of instructional materials, including textbooks, in order to prioritize staff positions for next year.
"We decided that we would defer purchase of materials for the coming year, primarily textbooks, which would allow us to then prioritize those folks and their positions over those new textbooks," Doctor Bishop said. He said the district will request a waiver from the state to carry out the deferral and thanked CFO Cameron, principals and deputy superintendents for helping achieve a balanced position.
Board members asked how Miss Skinner had been involved in the decision; Doctor Bishop said she will be part of the waiver process and that he and Skinner had discussed the approach before announcing it to the public. The board did not take formal action on the textbook matter at the meeting; staff said a full budget presentation is expected on May 4.
The district also noted that some previously issued transfer or reduction notices have been withdrawn following the decision, and staff said they would provide additional detail in the coming days about which positions and purchases are affected and how the waiver process will proceed.
