BY STEVEN STIEFEL
FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — The Lee County Board of Education is exploring a partnership that could help create a centralized career technical center while also planning future campus upgrades in Loachapoka, Beulah, Beauregard and Smith’s Station, according to Superintendent Mike Howard.
During a work session prior to the regularly called meeting, Howard told school board members he plans to speak with Opelika City Schools about a possible partnership to pursue a state grant for a regional career tech center.
“I would love to have a central career tech center that all of our students could be bused to,” Howard said.
Howard said a shared center could house larger, harder-to-staff programs such as welding and HVAC while allowing individual campuses to keep some career tech offerings. He said the state grant requires a partnership with another school system or a junior college.
Howard said Southern Union Community College already has a career tech center and likely would not be interested, making Opelika a more likely partner. He said Lee County could potentially use an existing site with usable land and parking, though planning remains in the early stages.
“It’s not an overnight thing, but I’ll work through that,” Howard said.
At Loachapoka, Howard said the system is planning a new cafeteria behind the school, partly to keep dumpsters out of view. The existing cafeteria could later be repurposed for classrooms or career tech space, depending on long-term plans.
Howard said the district ultimately wants to create a true middle school at Loachapoka by moving sixth grade to the high school side once enough space is available. He said officials still need site analysis, including core samples, before deciding on construction.
Howard also said road issues around Loachapoka have required repeated work to bring the campus up to code.
In Beulah, Howard said enrollment growth may require future expansion at both the high school and elementary school. He said population growth near the lake has driven enrollment increases, including a 67-student increase this year at the elementary school.
Howard said moving fifth grade to the middle school setup has improved student retention.
“All the kids love it,” he said.
He said the change has helped keep students in the system who previously might have left for homeschooling or other options before sixth grade.
Howard said the board will open bids April 23 for football field work and may need a brief special-called meeting to approve them so construction can move quickly before football season. He also said the district plans to move an upgraded lighting system from Beulah’s old football field to the new one.
Howard said improvements at Beulah will eventually allow the school to host events in two functional gyms, easing scheduling for junior varsity and varsity basketball games.
“When you are having to share one gym, and you’ve got a JV girls, JV boys, ninth grade boys and girls varsity, you get six or seven basketball games under one roof on one night. That’s a long night,” Howard said. “But if you can split them up into two gyms, you might have JV competing in one gym and varsity in the other. It speeds everything up and makes it so much easier.”
He also raised concerns about long travel times for athletic teams in new regional alignments, with some trips on school nights. Some Lee County students will be required to travel north of Birmingham or south to the Florida panhandle to play some of their games. Those students will travel on the 2026 buses to minimize the risk of vehicle problems.
“All of our schools, their travel budget is very tight. They don’t generate as many funds on a Friday night as some other places do, and they have to eat,” Howard said. “The band makes this travel, the cheerleaders travel. It’s not just a football team. It’s everybody traveling these three hours. Their travel budget this year is going to be unreal. We try to help. It’s not football we worry about because you got Saturday morning. It’s baseball, softball and basketball. One of their trips is a three hour drive, one way. One way. We’re talking three hours on a Tuesday night to play a game. That’s not counting the three hours back that they had to drive and the amount of time they’re going to be competing at the location. We’re talking eight hours, round trip, on a school day. They’ll be getting home at 1 or 2 p.m. on Wednesday morning. Those things really make me a little nervous about these new regions, how they’ve been set up.”
At Beauregard, Howard said the district plans to add exterior restrooms near the gym and playground and finish renovations to the high school front office. He said the changes will also allow creation of a dedicated nurse’s space in the high school office, reducing the need for high school students to go into the elementary area.
At Loachapoka, Howard said the round building currently being used for gym activities is expected to become the new library media center. The current media center would then be converted into a front office area for the principal, assistant principal and counselor.
At Smith’s Station, Howard said bidding for phase two of the practice facility project drew four bids, with the lowest bid coming in under budget. He said the work includes a new weight room, locker room and bathroom facility and could be finished by late this year, depending largely on how quickly metal materials arrive.
Howard said the district also plans summer work on prekindergarten playgrounds and the high school sprinkler system, which is difficult to repair while students are in the building.
He also said some schools will receive upgraded digital scoreboards that can show live video, commercials and other content while giving students hands-on production experience.
“There is an educational value, absolutely, a lot more than I anticipated,” Howard said.
Howard also said the district is studying a systemwide rekeying project so each campus could operate on a master key system instead of requiring staff to carry large numbers of keys.
During the regular board meeting, members approved a $2.4 million bid to Beasley Construction Services for phase two of the Smiths Station practice facility. Howard said the project will add a weight room, locker room and bathroom facility with room for future expansion.
“One bid was a little too high, but the other three were very competitive,” Howard said. “[Beasley] just built the complex, so it’s the same company that we had great success with. It came in under budget, which was a great thing to see. It gives us flexibility because there are always overruns and things that you don’t anticipate. But that’s a great sign for us moving forward for construction projects. Even the complex itself came in under budget too. Not by much, but it did come under budget. This one came in significantly under budget, and so I am really excited about that. We get to work with the same project management group. We have the same group of people handling multiple phases.”
In Other Business
- The board heard from a Loachapoka parent who renewed criticism of the board’s public comment rules and said she was billed $376 for an open records request.
- The board recognized the Smiths Station Pop Band for receiving a 2026 Advocacy and Action Award, one of only 26 such awards nationwide and the only one in the Southeast.
- The board introduced Joshua Brown as the new assistant principal at Beauregard Elementary School.
- The board approved two additional textbooks for AP U.S. history and AP biology, the monthly financial and cash reconciliation reports, policy revisions related to prohibited conduct and sex-based discrimination, the March seclusion and restraint report and personnel recommendations to be entered into the April minutes for approval at the next meeting.
- The board approved a report by Chief Financial Officer Ken Roberts, who said year-to-date general fund surplus exceeded the prior year by $686,000 and that revenues and expenses were both up 5.3%, in line with budget expectations.
- The board approved several out-of-state and overnight field trips in April and May:
- April 10-11: the Smith’s Station High Junior Varsity Boys and Girls soccer teams travel to Hoover, Alabama.
- April 23-25: Beulah High travels for track sectionals in Trussville, Alabama.
- April 27: West Smith’s Station Elementary field trip to the Coca-Cola Space and Science Center in Columbus, Georgia.
- April 28: The Smith’s Station Golf team will participate in the AHSAA Golf Sectionals in Columbus.
- April 28: South Smith’s Station Elementary travels on a field trip to wild animal safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia.
- April 29: Beauregard Elementary’s field trip to the National Infantry Museum in Columbus.
- May 5: Sanford Middle School field trip to the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia
- May 7: Sanford Middle School field trip to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and West Smith’s Station Elementary field trip to the Springer Opera House in Columbus.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for May 12 at 5 p.m.
