In attendance: Chairman David Dekle, Vice Chair (D1) Philip Kent, D2 Kristi Baker, D3 Judy Teasley, D4 Katie Allen, Superintendent Steven Flynt
Call To Order: 5:30pm
Invocation: Trinity Baptist Church Family Life Pastor TJ Custer
Pledge of Allegiance: Grovetown HS JROTC
Approval of Agenda:
(Not transcripted)
Dekle: There are 2 items that were inadvertently left off the agenda, and asked to amend the agenda to include:
The schedule for board members training, which was included in board packet
Bid results regarding special education outsourcing of teachers.
(After a motion and second))
Allen: What item numbers will those be now?
Dekle: We’ll make the training schedule Consent Item H, and we’ll make the bid results item 11.1, immediate following the CTAE presentation. Is that OK?
Allen: And just for clarification, those are training hours only. That’s not….
Dekle: Yes. It’s the sheet that was in your packet.
Allen: And we’re approving the training hours only, correct?
Dekle: Yes, as presented in the training packet.
Amend Agenda Vote: Yay 5, No 0
Special Recognition:
a. Country Music Award Foundation Top Music Educator in the Nation
Melissa Blizzard of Stevens Creek Elementary School
Special Recommendation:
a. Rodney Holder, Assistant Principal Harlem High School
Board Comments: Board members thanked the pastor for the invocation, congratulated music teacher Melissa Blizzard on receiving a national CMA Foundation Music Teacher Award, and praised her commitment to her students. They also congratulated Rodney Holder on his promotion to assistant principal at Harlem HS, highlighting his nearly 29 years of service and leadership in the district. Several board members thanked the Grovetown HS JROTC cadets for lading the Pledge of Allegiance, praised district staff for their work preparing for the upcoming school year, and expressed confidence that CCSD would have another successful year.
Flynt: One more agenda item to add as item 7.1. Vote to submit application for Exemplary School Board to Georgia School Board Association. Yay 5, No 0
Exemplary Board Application: Yay 4, No, 0 Abstain 1 (Allen)
Flynt: Deadline falls before the next board meeting. GSBA offers 3 levels of recognition based on board governance and other criteria, and Columbia County routinely applies each year.
Allen: Questioned whether the board should seek the designation, saying she believed there were still areas where the board needed improvement and that she had previously emailed concerns about governance. She hadn’t been provided the evaluation rubric or enough information to make an informed decision.
Kent: Believes the board is moving in a positive direction, citing more open discussion and transparency. Acknowledge he wasn’t familiar with GSBA scoring criteria.
Teasley: Stakeholder feedback gathered as part of the application process had been positive, and the district applies for the recognition annually.
Consent Agenda:
a. Minutes of 6/16/2026 Regular Session Meeting, and Minutes of 7/14/2026 Special Called Meeting.
b. May Financials
c. Budget Amendment and Transfers
d. Fundraisers
e. Employee Travel
f. Program/Camp/Employee Participation Requests
g. Lease/Use of Facilities
h. Schedule for board member training
Allen: Asked to remove 6/16/2026 Meeting Minutes.
Motion to approve consent items b-h and the 7/14/2026 Special Called Meeting Minutes: Yay 5, No 0
Allen: Asked to amend the 6/16/2026 meeting minutes to state that she removed herself from part of the executive session before later abstaining from the affidavit vote. Yay 5, No 0
Board Policies (revisions to be voted on at next meeting) (To view Board Policies, check here: https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Policy/PolicyListing.aspx?S=36031361&ptid=amIgTZiB9plushNjl6WXhfiOQ== . Scroll down on the left-hand menu to see “Pending for Public Comment.” This will list the board policies that are currently accepting public comments.)
a. Board Policy KG, Use of School Facilities
b. Board Policy EBB, Safety: Adding state mandated Behavior Threat Assessment guidelines/protocols, safety training for subs. Each school will have behavioral threat assessment team that valuates reported threats under state guidelines, documents serious cases in Infinite Campus and coordinates with school resource officers.
c. Board Policy GARJ, Employee Retirement: Revising Return to work language for retirees to comply with TRS requirements.
d. Board Policy IH, Student Achievement: Modifying that middle school students may qualify for example exemptions
e. Board Policy JB, Student Attendance: Implementing new kindergarten and first-grade readiness requirements. State requirements to assess students for first grade readiness if they did not attend public Kindergarten.
Graduation Ceremonies for 2027
Ceremonies will continue to be held at Evans Towne Center Park with the Columbia County Performing Arts Centers reserved as indoor backup in case of inclement weather
Augusta Arena as alternate venue discussed but no guarantee it will be finished in time, but may be a viable option for 2028.
Career, Technical and Agricultural Education Pathway Update
Addition of Heavy Equipment Operator Pathway
Bid Result for SPED Teacher Augumentation. Approved with Restriction (see notes): Yay 5, No 0
Flynt: District issued request for proposals to ore than 10 vendors and received 29 responses. Based on cost, staffing availability, response time, Georgia experience and references, administrators recommended Blazer works.
Wright (HR): District currently anticipating needing 8-10 teachers and described the contract as a backup staffing option to fill vacancies more quickly than the district could hire on its own. He said contracted teachers would met thee district’s certification requirements and could be hired for varying lengths of time depending on need.
Allen: Questioned whether proposal was connected to a separate procurement involving the possible outsourcing of paraprofessionals. Allen said she reviewed an open procurement document referencing staffing services and believed there was overlap in the language. Sh argued that the board previously discussed studying the outsourcing concept further and that she had no received enough documentation to determine if the 2 procurement were related.
Wright: Repeatedly stated that the bid contract before the board did not involve outsourcing paraprofessionals and was limited to temporary professional staffing for positions such as special education teachers, occupational therapists and other specialized personnel. Wright said the district had no intention of outsourcing its paraprofessional Workforce and explained the proposal simply established a contract that could be used when vacancies arose.
Baker: Asked whether contracted employees would remain for the entire school year and if district could request other specialized provides if needed.
Wright: Compared to arrangement to traveling healthcare professionals, explaining that the staffing company maintains a large network of qualified personnel who can be placed more quickly than traditional hiring. Expressed concern that if they didn’t follow through with contract, there would be SPED teacher vacancies on the first day of school.
Dekle: Proposed adding a restriction that the contract could not be used to fill paraprofessional positions without returning to the board for approval.
The motion was made and voted on.
Bid for Heavy Equipment Operator Simulator for CTAE. Approve: Yay 5, No 0
Ratification of the Greenbrier HS CMAR bid award. Yay 5, No 0
Formally ratified it’s 7/14/2026 decision rescinding award to Carroll Daniel Construction and awarding contract to McKnight Construction.
Allen asked whether Turner & Townsend’s representative would be present to answer additional questions about scoring calculations.
Dekle state he wanted the superintendent to review the district’s program management process and provide recommendations going forward
Superintendents Report:
Rising 6th Grade Camp, July 23
New Teacher Induction, July 23, 24 and 27
Open House Dates for 2026-2027 SY
HS: July 29
MS: July 30
ES: July 30
Teacher Pre-Planning, July 28-31 & August 3
Rising 9th Grade Camp, July 30 and August 1
First Day of School, August 4
Progress Reports, September 3
Early Dismissal/Parent Conferences, September 4
*All Parents* Don’t forget! Online Student Registration is still ongoing. Contact the district if you didn’t get your back to school magazine in the mail.
Public Participation:
Jessica Fisher: Praised the board for tentatively lowering the millage rate to the rollback rate. Discouraged the board from outsourcing staff due to quality concerns.
Taylor Schwarzkopf: Concerns about culture of intolerance and non-acceptance of students with special needs throughout district.
Executive Session: 7:15-7:23pm
Affidavit executed: Yay 5, No 0
Personnel sheet: Yay 5, No 0
Adjourn 7:25pm