Board of Education introduces new theme for the next school year, approves FY26 budget 

PERRY — The Houston County Board of Education met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, June 10, the first for incoming Superintendent Dr. Richard Rogers.

“I’m really excited that Dr. Rogers is our new superintendent. I’m very thankful for his leadership and for what he’s shown already over the last few months in getting prepared for this particular moment in time,” board member Jon Nichols said. “I’m excited about our budget that we’ve come up with, as it is really going to make a difference in our school system and help us with things that we’ve been trying to do.” 

Rogers also provided comments before his first-ever Superintendent’s report. 

“The district has my heart. We’re going to listen to you, take care of each other, support each other and make the right choices for the children, staff and our teachers,” he said. 

As Rogers explained, the Houston County School District’s theme this school year is “Together We Can…”

“My personal commitment to you as board members, to our teachers, staff, students and the families and communities, as a whole, is that together we can support one another,” he said. “Together we can nurture a culture where every student and staff member is known, valued and supported. Together we can listen, collaborate and find innovative solutions to the challenges we face.” 

Rogers began his report by celebrating the over 2,100 seniors who graduated last month. 

“We’re proud of our graduates and their accomplishments, and we want to thank you to the countless who worked behind the scenes to make graduation weekend a success,” he said. 

Also in the report, Rogers acknowledged over $60,000 in scholarships given to Houston County seniors by the Houston Association of Educational Office Professionals. 

Rogers ended the report by highlighting the summer feeding program. Summer meals will be served daily at Huntington Middle School, Northside and Perry High Schools from 8 a.m. to noon. There will also be six opportunities for families to pick up multi-day meal packs at Langston Road Primary, Bonaire Middle and Northside Elementary. 

“Thank you to our school nutrition staff for ensuring that our children eat and are well fed,” he said. 

In new business, the Board held a public hearing for the FY26 budget. Michelle Morris, the Chief Financial Officer for the school district, spoke in favor of the budget. No one in attendance spoke against it. 

Morris said the General Fund includes a $1,000 supplement to be paid to all full-time employees in December, and a $500 supplement to be paid to eligible part-time employees in December. It also includes new textbook adoptions for social studies and world language, along with computer replacements for the teachers and students, bus purchases, software subscriptions and equipment purchases. 

The General Fund also accounts for 53 additional personnel for the upcoming school year.  

“For our General Fund, our expenditures are budgeted at $469,511,940, our debt service which is for our bond payment is $9,019,625, capital projects is $83,964,923, this mainly includes our project for the Veterans Middle School,” she said. “Other programs which include our federal grants are $75,954,881.” 

The overall budget for the Board of Education is expected to be $638,451,369. The Board unanimously approved the budget. 

“I will say it is a bold budget but an achievable budget. We’re looking forward to seeing all of the great things we can accomplish during the ‘26 year,” Board Chair Helen Hughes said. 

In other new business, the Board approved an agreement with ICB Construction Group, Inc. for the Phase 2 upgrades to the Warner Robins High School baseball and softball improvements, as well as a contract agreement with Altman Barrett Architects for Northside Middle School athletic upgrades. 

The Board also approved the 2026-2027 school calendar. According to the calendar, school starts on August 4, Christmas holiday begins on December 18, the second semester starts on January 5, 2026, and the last day of school will be May 26, 2026. 

The next Houston County Board of Education meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 8, at the Board Office in Perry. 

The full agenda of this meeting can be found at simbli.eboardsolutions.com/SB_Meetings/ViewMeeting.aspx?S=4089&MID=126206&Tab=Agenda&enIID=gQ7g3GdVkakOnDX0Bbkgiw%3D%3D