The Coffee County Board of Education approved a director contract template that the director search committee prepared, directing minor non‑substantive cleanup to remove gendered wording and noting that residency language could be negotiated for finalists.

Board members discussed a residency clause in the draft contract that said the director must live within Coffee County. Several members said multiple finalists live outside the county but near its borders and argued that the board could suspend the residency policy or negotiate the provision for a chosen candidate. One board member said the contract is a starting point and that negotiated changes would be brought back to the board for final approval. “All contracts are negotiable,” a board member said during the discussion.

The board voted to approve the contract as the template to be offered to the successful candidate, with the understanding that final terms would be negotiated and returned to the board for final sign‑off.

Ending: The motion passed on roll call. The search committee will proceed with finalist negotiations using the approved template and return any negotiated amendments to the board for final action.