CULLMAN, Ala. – The Cullman City Board of Education held its monthly meeting on Thursday, Sept. 11, when it discussed the budget, and emergency project, personnel changes and districtwide planning initiatives for the school year.
The board was presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget, which was approved, along with the updated Capital Plan. (Look for a separate story soon.)
Additional approvals included an emergency drainage system project at Cullman High School’s baseball field.
According to Chief School Finance & Operations Officer James Brumley, “The Cullman High School baseball field will be off limits until repairs to its drainage system can be completed after the Cullman City School Board declared the project an emergency situation during its meeting on Thursday, Sept. 11. Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said a sinkhole was identified near the first-base dugout sometime during the previous year’s baseball season. After spending nearly $10,000 during the summer, he said the cause had recently been identified as what he described as ‘sub-standard work’ that was performed when the current astroturf was installed on the field between 2018 and 2019. Kallhoff said workers had used the wrong type of connection to connect a vertical drainage pipe to the city of Cullman’s horizontal drainage line around 16 feet below the field’s surface. He said that the connection had failed, but was no longer covered under warranty. Declaring the project an emergency will allow the board to bypass the typical bidding process, which could have potentially postponed work from starting until January, according to Kallhoff.”
“We declared it an emergency so we can get right to accepting quotes to get that fixed,” Kallhoff said.
Brumley continued, “Kallhoff said Latham Architects had already begun seeking quotes for the project who estimated the cost of repairs to be in the neighborhood of $200,000.”
The board awarded Bid 25-09 to Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED, Inc. for beverage services.
Several new and updated job descriptions were approved, including positions for a support services coordinator and a Pre-K education manager specialist. The board also adopted the 2025-2026 Consolidated Plan, which includes the district’s EL, McKinney-Vento Homeless, Foster Care, Transition, and Parent and Family Engagement plans. An updated Career Technical Handbook and Federal Programs Procedural Manual were also approved. New curriculum and oversight additions included the off-list AAA curriculum enCore and the appointment of the 2025-2026 Textbook Committee.
The board approved various contracts, including mentoring services through Principal Matters, LLC, and a one-year athletic training contract with Encore Rehabilitation, Inc.
The board accepted several upcoming retirements, transfers, conditional hires and contract assignments, including supplemental coaching roles and special education support.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, at 5 p.m. at the Cullman City Board of Education central office.
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