MATTHEW BURNETTE, Staff Writer

Former Coffee County Director of Schools Dr. Charles Lawson made a public comment at the March 10 School Board in opposition to Budget Amendment 141-2025-10.

The budget amendment, if approved, would move funds designated to pay teacher positions that weren’t being used to pay Interim Director Dr. Prater Powell’s salary. The move would prevent the Board from having to pay the salary out of the schools’ fund balance.

Lawson commented that “conditions have been created that no matter what I say about this budget amendment, it has to proceed.”

The Board voted unanimously in Oct. of 2024 to terminate Lawson without cause and pay out the remainder of his contract through June 30.

“I just want to make sure the Board understands it is unnecessary, and that’s the statement I wanted to say this evening,” said Lawson. “…For whatever reason that vote was taken, but the Director of Schools and the Board interact a few times a month at the most, and so that could have proceeded forward. We could have proceeded to work together and it would not have cost the District an extra $100,000.”

Though Lawson noted that there were some positive notes to the move like getting to enjoy vacations that he wouldn’t have been able to due to Director of Schools’ schedule, he ended his comment by stating that the move was “inadvisable, expensive and unnecessary.”

Later in the meeting, Board member Robert Gilley made the motion to vote on the budget amendment with a second by Board member Freda Jones.

“I would like to make a motion to approve this budget amendment, but I would ask respectfully if we could withhold as much discussion on this topic as possible as we’re all waiting on an executive decision from our attorney on some items,” commented Gilley.

The motion passed unanimously 8-0

A final budget amendment to pay out the remainder of Lawson’s 18 days of vacation time was moved to a vote by Gilley with the same condition as his previous motion.

It also passed unanimously 8-0.