BY STEVEN STIEFEL
FOR THE OBSERVER
BY STEVEN STIEFEL
FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — The Lee County Board of Education plans to hold a special meeting to consider an employee pay increase on Thursday, July 23, at 9 a.m. at the Central Office, located at 2410 Society Hill Road in Opelika.
Board members will consider a 2% pay raise for all personnel, including employees on extended contracts and those paid with local funds. The raise would take effect with new contracts starting July 1, Aug. 1 and Sept. 1. The state will start distributing earmarked funds for the increase in October. Local funds will cover raises for locally-funded teachers and other locally-funded positions, according to the meeting agenda.
The board will also consider awarding a $126,800 bid to Old South Construction to reroof the Beauregard High School auxiliary gym.
At the board’s July 14 regular meeting, Chief Financial Officer Ken Roberts gave an update on the district’s finances. Local revenues are up 14% year-to-date compared with last year, Roberts said, driven by strong growth in districtwide sales tax, while countywide sales tax growth trailed slightly behind. The district splits distributions based on enrollment. Roberts attributed part of the revenue increase to early property tax collections.
“Local revenue is 35% of total revenues,” Roberts said. “Our key critical issues come from capital plans, debt payments, funding schools [and] state shortfalls. May numbers are trending as expected with critical year-to-date comparisons reflecting small-to-moderate increases in revenue and expenses in the General Fund. The year-to-date surplus is similar to last year. In terms of the budget, we are spending at a rate in line with the General Fund budget, a trend that will support our overall reserves target, as well as any local funding of the system capital plan. Sales tax and property taxes in the areas outside our corporate area, both are growing and doing well there. So, that is very good news.”
The board unanimously approved Roberts’ report, which covered May activity.
Superintendent Mike Howard and the board also welcomed Laura Dowling as the district’s new EL teacher and Natasha Foster as the new assistant principal at Loachapoka High School during the meeting.
In other business, the board:
- Approved the 2026-27 student handbook, code of conduct and revisions to the policy on service animals in public schools, along with the Career Technical Education handbook.
- Approved a policy document, “Policies and Procedures for Exemplary School Libraries,” which focuses on promoting information literacy and sets procedures for parents and guardians to object to library materials they find offensive. The mission statement reads: “The school library media program is at the core of effective learning and plays a vital role in curriculum development and student achievement. The mission of the Lee County Schools Library Media Program is to assist students and teachers in becoming effective users of ideas and information.”
- Welcomed Laura Dowling as the district’s new EL teacher and Natasha Foster as the new assistant principal at Loachapoka High School.
- Awarded an ice cream bid to Hershey’s on Superintendent Mike Howard’s recommendation.
- Approved all human resources recommendations.
Lee County Schools resume classes Wednesday, Aug. 5.
