The Columbia County School Board on June 24 approved a personnel recommendation to hire a new director of purchasing and risk management and fund an overlap period with the current director ahead of his January 2026 retirement.

Board members said the overlap is intended to let the incoming employee "shadow" the long-serving director to learn purchasing processes and risk-management duties. Superintendent (name not specified) told the board the role requires a minimum six-month overlap and that the retiring director requested an extra month after roughly 40 years of service.

Board member Mrs. Hill voiced financial concerns before the vote, saying the district already asked schools to cut 55 units this year and that she would “prefer, respectfully, that we give consideration to funding some of those cuts or funding replacements for those cuts that directly impact student learning, instead of funding an additional long term shadowing.” The superintendent responded that inadequate training in purchasing could create budgetary errors and that the overlap was intended to avoid those risks.

After discussion, the board voted to approve the personnel items. Mrs. Hill registered the lone recorded “nay.” Other board members, including Mr. Hudson and Dana Giddens (participating by phone), expressed support for the transition period as the safest option for the district.

The board did not provide a line-item cost breakdown in the meeting. The superintendent said the overlap length was requested because the retiring director had asked for an additional month; the meeting record does not specify the salary amounts or funding source for the overlap. The motion to accept the personnel items was carried and the consent agenda was later approved by the board.