October 13, 2026, Board of Education Meeting

The City Schools of Decatur Board of Education held its October 13, 2026 work and regular meeting. Procurement discussions centered on RSP27-001 for legal services. The board indicated a preference for one firm to serve both the board and administration and discussed involving board representatives in the proposal evaluation; no firm was selected. Because the RFP may need an addendum, staff anticipated extending the October 20 proposal deadline by about seven days. The evaluation was tentatively scheduled for October 26–November 3, with a board contract-approval target of January 12, 2027. The board also discussed adding a review of purchasing-policy spending limits to its future policy priorities, but took no action on that policy.

The board received an informational update on approximately $1.57 million remaining from funds budgeted for a new early childhood learning center; staff proposed using it for one-time employee bonuses estimated at $1.46 million plus about $111,896 in employer payroll taxes. A formal FY27 budget amendment was planned for consideration on November 10, with no action taken at this meeting. Staff also presented a proposed $9 million in SPLOST closeout expenditures and an estimated $58.3 million FY28–32 capital plan, both subject to validation and later board consideration. The board approved the consent agenda (items 1–9), which included the discussed Cone Incorporated lift contract and the University of Virginia Partnership for Leaders in Education; the transcript provides no contract amount for the lift item. No other specific contract award or bid approval was identified.