The need for additional furniture at Southern Gap High School brought Buchanan County school Superintendent Sherry Fletcher before the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 5, with the board approving nearly $100,000 despite the county administrator’s recommendation against additional appropriations.
Meeting at the Government Center on Slate Creek, supervisors voted 6-1 to approve an additional appropriation of $99,058.51 for Buchanan County Public Schools. Board Chairman Tim Hess cast the lone opposing vote.
Fletcher explained that the original furniture funding did not account for bringing eighth graders and students from Council High School into Southern Gap. Those additions created a need for more furniture than originally planned.
During the discussion, Fletcher was asked whether the school system had anticipated moving eighth graders to the high school when the original funding was established. She said it had not.
Asked whether those changes were the reason for the additional request, Fletcher said they were and explained that the school system’s current budget could not cover the expense.
“I do not currently have it in our budget to cover,” Fletcher said.
County Administrator Craig Horn urged supervisors to hold off on additional appropriations, pointing to the county’s spending on projects during the previous year.
“I recommend strongly that there be no additional appropriations from this board during this budget review,” Horn said.
Knox supervisor Trey Adkins said the public needed to understand that the county’s additional project spending did not mean it had overspent its budget. He pointed to special projects undertaken with the Industrial Development Authority.
“It wasn’t that we overspent our budget,” Adkins said. “It’s important for the public to know that.”
Horn agreed that the county had not overspent its budget but said it had spent at least $2.5 million more on various projects.
Adkins made the motion to approve the furniture appropriation, with Rocklick supervisor Craig Stiltner seconding.
The discussion also turned to the former Grundy High School building and the removal of window air conditioners during surplus sales.
Stiltner said he had visited the property and noticed windows had been boarded up after the units were removed. He questioned whether replacing the air conditioners and repairing the windows to prepare the property for a possible sale would cost more than the school system received from selling the units.
Fletcher said the principal had been responsible for overseeing the sale of surplus items from the school.
Supervisors also unanimously approved two transfers between school funds to address year-end balances and invoice coding.
The first moved $400,000 from School Operating Fund 20 to Food Service Fund 24, effective June 30, 2026. The food service fund had a negative balance at the close of the fiscal year.
Adkins made the motion to approve that transfer, with Stiltner seconding.
The second moved $50,000 from School Operating Fund 20 to School Construction Fund 25, also effective June 30, 2026. The transfer corrected invoices that had been coded to the school construction fund.
Adkins made the motion, with North Grundy supervisor Lee Dotson seconding.
