Call to Order: 5:30pm
Invocation: Warren Grovetown Discipleship Pastor Corey Baxter
Pledge of Allegiance: Blue Ridge and Stevens Creek Elementary Schools 4H Presidents
Approval of Agenda: Yay 4, No: 1 (Katie Allen)
Special Recognition:
School District Military Veterans
Board Comments and Acknowledgments: Board members thanked students, families, staff, and veterans for their contributions to the district. Kristi Baker reflected on her 16 years of board service as she prepares to retire from the board.
Approval of Consent Items: Yay 5, No 0
10/27/2026 Work Session Meeting Minutes
Budget Amendment
Fundraisers
Employee Travel
Program/Camp/Employee Participation Requests
Lease/Use of Facilities
Inspiring The Promise of the Columbia County School District, Evans High School
Associate Superintendent Steve Cummings
Principal of Evans HS Wade White
Highlighted academic growth, strong student-teacher relationships, and collaborative instructional planning.
Offers 23 AP courses with more than 500 students participating.
Provides two on-campus Augusta University dual enrollment opportunities serving 80 students.
Expanded course offerings in fine arts, business, personal finance, and networking.
Rusty James
94.15% graduation rate, among the highest in the district.
Significant AP performance growth, from 58% scoring 3 or higher in 2022 to approximately 83–85% in 2026.
Improved benchmark performance across math, English, social studies, and biology.
District’s highest U.S. History EOC performance and was only high school to meet regression benchmark in biology.
Highest teacher attendance rate in district, crediting collaboration, instructional specialists, and strong student-teacher relationships.
Dr. Taylor Tompkins
Credited Principal Wade White’s leadership and the school’s focus on maximizing instructional time.
Highlighted expanded leadership team of 5 assistant principals and 3 instructional specialists who support teachers and collaborative planning.
Emphasized professional learning communities (PLCs), teacher collaboration, and data-driven instruction.
Reported that improved staffing and leadership structures allow instructional specialists to spend more time supporting classroom instruction.
Praised veteran teachers for sharing effective teaching strategies and embracing continuous improvement.
Alison Bogus, Biology Teacher
Praised Evans High School’s emphasis on protecting instructional and planning time.
Credited teacher collaboration, experienced staff, and instructional specialists for improvements in student performance.
Emphasized using student data, evaluating teaching strategies, and building relationships to continually improve instruction.
Highlighted the importance of teacher retention in maintaining strong academic programs.
Mary Katherine “Kate” Harris, Senior
Will have completed 19 AP courses by graduation, emphasizing students are encouraged to pursue challenging coursework.
Credited supportive teachers and counselors with helping her build confidence and overcome challenges, including public speaking.
Highlighted new AP Ambassador program, where students tutor peers and encourage participation in AP courses.
Praised the school’s diverse student body, extracurricular opportunities, and supportive learning environment.
Bid Result
Support Complex Warehouse Construction Project. Approval: Yay 4, No 1 (Katie Allen)
Chief Facilities Officer Tim Beatty presented Change Order for the Support Complex Warehouse Construction Project.
Original contract: $687,700
Change Order: $97,256.83
Revised contract: $784,956.83
Beatty explained that additional work was necessary to bring portions of the building into compliance with current building and life safety codes. Work included renovations to offices, meeting, break room, and restroom spaces.
Katie Allen questioned why the additional work had already been completed without board approval.
Change order dated 7/10/2026, and signed by the contractor on 9/30, but not signed by district.
Beatty acknowledged that he authorized the work to proceed.
Allen questioned whether changes to competitively bid contracts required board approval before the work was performed.
Beatty explained that waiting for board approval could delay construction and increase costs. He said he preferred consolidating the additional work into one change order rather than bringing multiple change orders to the board.
(not exactly transcripted)
Allen: My question is just trying to get clarification because this seems like an anomaly of process. [Allen explained that her understanding was that any change to an awarded bid, regardless of the amount, required board approval.]
Beatty: Yeah, well, it is. The board has the sole responsibility once a project is awarded. [Beatty continued defending his decision to proceed with the work rather than delay construction.]
Beatty: “I can flood you with change orders all day long if that’s the way you want to go.”
Board members also questioned expenses associated with the Junior Achievement Dream Accelerator.
Judy Teasley asked about an approximately $12,964 exterior sign included in the documentation.
Beatty said the sign and approximately $12,500 in additional wall finishing work were associated with the Junior Achievement project and would be paid from that project’s funds.
Philip Kent questioned the costs and readiness of the Junior Achievement space.
Kent: I thought the JA was already completely done, prepared, and that we weren’t going to be spending more money on that section of that building.
[Beatty explained that the warehouse portion of the project was complete, but the Dream Accelerator space still required significant work.]
Kent: I know it’s a hundred thousand dollars, and we’ve been talking about millions and millions of dollars. But the fact is, we’ve been talking about spending millions and millions of dollars. So this does matter. [Kent said he had previously asked about the costs associated with preparing the Dream Accelerator space and received different answers.]
Kent: I’ve asked questions in the past about dollars going towards preparations for that room for the accelerator versus anything else, and I was given a little bit of different answers. So that bothers me a little bit.
[Beatty said the Dream Accelerator space still needed HVAC work, floor trenching, door relocations, and other preparations.]
Beatty: We’re not even close to having that prepared.
Kent continued questioning which expenses were included in the Junior Achievement funding and which were separate. Beatty said approximately $25,000 in expenses appearing in the warehouse project documentation would be charged to the Junior Achievement account.
Allen moved to table the change order until Dr. Flynt could attend and answer questions. Her motion received no second.
Superintendent Reports
11/5/2026 Health Careers Expo
This week is School Psychologist Appreciation Week
American Education Week next Thursday
Progress Reports, 11/10/2026
Veterans Day Holiday, 11/11/2026
Thanksgiving Holidays, Nov 23-27
Early Dismissal, 12/18/2026
Winter Break, 12/21/2026-1/4/2027
Professional Learning Day, 1/5/2027
First Day of Second Semester, 1/6/2027
Report Cards, 1/8/2027
Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday, 1/18/2027
Public Comment:
Ben Current: Raised concerns about district’s SPED and Section 504 procedures, including access to educational records, eligibility determinations, and compliance with federal requirements. Also questioned if district was consistently following required procedures and ensuring appropriate parental involvement in decisions affecting students.
Jonas Mandi: Current senior student. Expressed concerns about the district reporting weighted GPAs on a 4.0 scale rather than a 5.0 scale. He argued that this could disadvantage students applying for college admissions and merit-based scholarships. He urged the board to reconsider how weighted GPAs are reported on student transcripts.
Karin Parham: Emphasized balancing property tax relief with school funding, citing uncertainty surrounding future data center revenues and the 25-year tax abatement schedule. Urged the board to prioritize students, seek community input, and invest in education.
Personnel Sheet: Approve: Yay 5, No 0
Adjourn: 7:05pm.