Savannah-Chatham County Public School System Packet Summary — July 8, 2026
The Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education is scheduled to meet at 2:00 PM in the Jessie Collier DeLoach Board Room at the Whitney Administrative Complex, 2 Laura Avenue. The agenda combines policy reviews, personnel and procurement items, academic-service contracts, capital projects, budget actions, and district financial reporting.
Key Items on the Agenda
Major Operational and Capital Commitments
Several of the largest proposed actions involve facilities, technology, and district operations.
- West Chatham Schools design: Staff recommends moving forward with the design and construction-administration phase of the West Chatham Schools Project with Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung International, Inc. The proposed lump-sum fee is $8,880,173, plus a $100,000 reimbursable expense budget.
- Hubert Middle School renovation: The board is scheduled to consider a $1,026,822 GMP change order to Samet Corporation for civil and landscaping additions needed for permitting approval. The change would increase the project's total GMP to $19,734,115.
- Districtwide furniture contracts: Staff recommends contracts with four vendors establishing fixed pricing for furniture, fixtures, and equipment purchased as needed. Purchases would be limited by the approved FY 2026-2027 furniture project budget of $15 million, and individual purchases above $100,000 would return to the board for approval.
- Enterprise document management: The packet recommends awarding RFP 26-07 to Harvest Technology Group, Inc. for an initial estimated annual cost of $2,195,752 to scan and digitize district student records. The initial one-year contract would include two optional one-year renewals.
- HVAC services: A second renewal of the district's annual HVAC repair, replacement, installation, and preventive-maintenance contract is recommended, with an estimated annual expenditure of $3.5 million.
Student and Instructional Services
The board is also scheduled to consider investments affecting counseling, assessment, student planning, and specialized services.
- Speech-language pathology and school psychology: The superintendent recommends a second one-year renewal of contracts with CBR Therapy/Total Communication Therapy, Presence Learning, Inc., American Medical Staffing, Inc., and The Stepping Stones Group, LLC. The estimated cost is $1.2 million, with the initial contract's terms and conditions remaining unchanged.
- College and career readiness: Staff recommends awarding RFP 26-25 to MaiaLearning, Inc. for an estimated $110,000 initial term, with two optional one-year renewals. The proposed K-12 platform would centralize career exploration, academic planning, goal setting, postsecondary readiness, and related student-success functions.
- Formative assessment: The consent agenda proposes a $237,877.20 investment in the Illuminate SchoolCity Formative Assessment Platform. The first-year rollout would focus on GMAS-tested grades, subjects, and courses, with implementation and review running through the 2026-2027 school year.
- District data platform: The packet proposes $311,790 for the Abre District Data Intelligence Platform, pending formal procurement and licensing. Phase 1 would integrate student, human-resources, finance, operations, and strategic-plan performance information for district and school leaders; Phase 2 is planned to expand access to the Board of Education and the public.
Major Financial Items
General Fund Transfers and Budget Amendments
The agenda includes several proposed uses or transfers of General Fund resources.
- School Nutrition Program: Staff recommends transferring $1.6 million from the General Fund balance to the School Nutrition Program for School Year 2025-2026, together with a corresponding budget amendment.
- Utility costs: A separate budget amendment would provide $2 million from General Fund balance for additional School Year 2025-2026 utility expenditures.
- JROTC: Because FY26 JROTC expenditures are expected to exceed revenues, staff proposes a $306,386 operating transfer from the General Fund to the JROTC fund to prevent a deficit fund balance.
- School nutrition supplies: The packet recommends a contract term running from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, for paper products and supplies, at an estimated additional term cost of $921,905.
The board is also expected to receive the district's May 2026 financials as part of the Operational Excellence & Accountability portion of the agenda.
Facilities and ESPLOST Actions
The consent agenda contains additional capital-project actions beyond the larger items scheduled separately.
For Hubert Middle School, staff recommends an additional $121,780 for ECS Southeast, LLC to perform construction and materials testing and storm-water prevention protection plan inspections. That change would increase the firm's contract from $19,025 to $140,805.
For Charles Ellis Montessori, an expanded renovation scope includes full-building air conditioning, fire-alarm and electrical-service upgrades, interior door and hardware replacement, cabinetry and bathroom improvements, exterior window replacement, brick repair, and exterior painting. Staff recommends a $375,531 design-services change order to Pond & Company, increasing its contract to $871,811, along with a corresponding budget transfer.
The board is also scheduled to consider removing portions of West Chatham Middle School from the district's FY23 state capital-outlay application. Because the building is scheduled for demolition under an approved ESPLOST V project, the packet says additional renovation and modification work from the earlier application will not proceed; $786,887.61 in state funds associated with that scope would be restored to accumulated entitlement for future projects.
For Southwest Middle School, the packet states that a roof-replacement project funded through the FY23 capital-outlay application has been completed and the contractor paid. The board is being asked to certify that required accounts have been paid and authorize the documentation needed to request final state payment.
Policy and Governance Items
Employee Leave Changes
Policy GARH — Employee Leaves and Absences is presented for a first reading. Proposed updates reflect House Bill 1118, providing an additional three weeks of paid maternal birth leave, and Senate Bill 148, extending accrued sick leave available for personal use from three days to five days.
Student Electronic Devices
Policy JCDAF — Use of Electronic Devices by Students is under mid-period review. The packet says there are no substantive policy changes, but the administrative regulation has been updated to align with House Bill 1009, the Distraction-Free Education Act, extending the prohibition on personal electronic devices to grades 9-12. The changes are presented for board review.
Strategic Goals
Policy BA — Goals and Objectives returns for a second reading. The proposed revision incorporates the district's 2026-2031 Strategic Plan, "Unlimited Possibilities," and is presented for adoption.
Other Policy Reviews
The board will also receive first-reading reviews of BCAE — Public Hearings and BDA — Policy Development System, both with updated language. Policy GAEB — Sexual Harassment of Employees is under four-year review; the agenda indicates no policy change but a change to its regulation.
Several policies appear on the consent agenda for second-reading action, including:
- ICC — Curriculum Research, with updates to departmental titles and references to current Georgia curriculum requirements.
- BDD — Policy Dissemination, with updated references concerning the official Board Policy Manual and its location on the district website.
- BHB — Nepotism, adding procedural language concerning employment and promotion of immediate family members.
- BH — Board Code of Ethics, including updated social-media language recommended by legal counsel.
- JAA — Equal Educational Opportunities, including updates directing the community to sources for Section 504 Coordinator contact information.
Other Consent Agenda Items
The consent agenda includes personnel actions covering retirements, resignations, appointments, reassignments, salary adjustments, a notice of non-renewal, and charter-school personnel actions. It also includes approval of the June 3, 2026 meeting minutes and annual certification that employee evaluations have been completed.
Additional procurement and operational items include a second renewal of the cloud-based visitor and volunteer tracking solution, swimming-pool maintenance services, environmental cleanup and disaster-recovery services, automated energy-management services, and leadership and instructional coaching. The proposed automated energy-management sole-source contract with Automated Logic Controls would have an initial-term ceiling of $500,000, including up to $400,000 for services and $100,000 for parts and supplies.
The board is also scheduled to consider the FY2027 Audit Plan and an Audit of 1-to-1 Technology Access. Both documents were approved by the Audit Committee on June 25, 2026, and are now presented for board approval.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The meeting places substantial financial and operational proposals before the board, including the West Chatham Schools design work, the Hubert Middle School renovation change order, districtwide furniture purchasing authority, student-record digitization, HVAC services, and General Fund support for nutrition and utility costs.
Policy work is another major theme. The agenda spans employee leave, student electronic-device rules, board ethics and nepotism, curriculum research, equal educational opportunities, public hearings, and the district's strategic goals.
The packet's announcements also identify a Board Millage Rate Public Hearing #2 for 6:00–7:00 PM on July 8 at the Whitney Administrative Complex. A third millage-rate public hearing is scheduled for July 15 from 6:00–6:30 PM, followed by a Special Board Meeting from 6:30–7:00 PM for the recommended millage rate and final adoption.
