School board, superintendent at odds over budget

In a grueling, nearly five hours long meeting Thursday night, the Bibb County school board failed to adopt a tentative budget for fiscal year 2026, as members could not come to an agreement about the superintendent’s requests for additional spending.

The budget failed to pass as board members were locked in a 4-4 vote. Board members Sundra Woodford, Henry Ficklin, Daryl Morton and Barney Hester voted against the budget and board members Lisa Garrett-Boyd, Kristin Hanlon, Myrtice Johnson and James Freeman voted in favor of its passage.

Since the board’s second budget workshop earlier this month, Sims changed his recommendations to nix requests for a leadership coach and an assistant athletics director.

Implementing a 3% raise for certified teachers and a new salary schedule would cost the district about $7.7 million. Sims’ additional budget requests amount to a little more than $200,000. 

Sims told board members his recommendations are “nominal” and made to be “budget-neutral.” He also said he does not see a way to keep the district a competitive employer without raises and salary schedule changes.

“We worked hard on this budget,” Sims told The Melody. “I need more information to say what we are willing to change.”

Before the board voted on the budget, Ficklin proposed removing the superintendent’s recommendations in the budget, including a truancy consultant and raises for the district’s maintenance and elementary service directors. 

That motion also failed 4-4 along the same lines. 

Ficklin said the board needs to reduce spending to make the budget more acceptable, as the board may need to raise taxes, which could jeopardize public support for a future Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax later down the line. 

A drastic increase in the district’s budget deficit from $3 million in the hole last year to $21 million in this year’s tentative budget is “tremendous,” Ficklin said.

“We need to look at some other things to reduce this budget, and that is to reduce the spending in this budget,” he said.

Ficklin called for the district to cut out-of-state travel but his motion was not seconded. He said he agrees with the proposed salary raises and suggested increasing them further at a recent budget meeting — but the deficit is far too large.

Johnson said she thought all of Sims’ recommendations were important, especially the raises for teachers. She also said it’s necessary to include the raises to keep the district competitive.

“If they don’t get what they need, they are going to go somewhere else where they can get it,” Johnson told The Melody. “I want to be able to keep all the people right here in Bibb to serve our children.”

Hester said he is concerned about the state of the budget in the coming years. Morton said he feared adding more fixed costs, namely the salary raises, amid “uncertain financial times.”

“We know where we are right now, but we don’t know where we’re gonna be next year,” Morton said. “I value our employees and the hard work they do and I want to reward them for that, they’ve earned it, I just didn’t think that was the best way in our current circumstances to address that.”

The school board has until June 30 to adopt the budget. If the board doesn’t make the deadline, it must approve monthly expenditures.

Infinity Academy reapplies for local charter

The district also briefed board members on the rules and procedures for charter school approval. Deputy Superintendent Katika Lovett said the district has received four letters of intent, but only one school had a group petitioning to open a charter school, Infinity Academy.

Infinity Academy’s petition for a local charter was not approved by the board in August due to an application that included false statements and fraudulent signatures. Lovett said it was not made clear to the district whether or not the academy sought state charter school status.

Infinity Academy’s application must be submitted by June 9. In the meantime, the district plans to interview the school’s governing board.

The board postponed voting on new legal counsel until its next meeting. The district hired Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLC, as interim legal counsel and finds the Atlanta-based law firm to be the most suitable candidate.

Ficklin worries policy will compromise ethics

Ficklin made a motion for the board to schedule a work session to review a proposed policy that would remove some of the board’s duties, including committees. The policy, according to the district’s recommendation, “removes overly prescriptive duties that make it challenging to align with established or changing protocols.” 

Ficklin, who serves on the personnel services committee, said he recently asked the district for an employment application for a candidate Sims had recommended hiring. It was then, Ficklin said, he learned the candidate had not submitted a written application.

Ficklin said he worries the ethics of the board could be compromised with the policy change.

“What board wants to exist without the ability to hold accountable those charged with educating the most precious resource, our children,” Ficklin said. “To gut this policy is to make resistance to transparency very pronounced.”

Ficklin’s motion to talk about the proposed policy change at a later work session failed in a 6-2 vote with Morton and Ficklin in favor. 

The next board meeting is set for June 20.