The Langford Area School Board held its annual reorganizational meeting Monday evening, retaining its current leadership and reviewing the district’s preliminary budget for the 2026-27 school year.
There were no new board members this year. The board re-elected Jennifer Gustafson as president and Brandon Alberts as vice president. Regular board meetings will continue to be held on the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m.
During the preliminary budget hearing, Superintendent Shad Storley discussed the district’s financial outlook and the decision to continue providing its own bus transportation rather than contracting with an outside service.
“We worked so hard to get here, that’s why we were concerned about the bus contracting route,” Storley said. “We don’t want to mess with what we have going. Sustainability is important.”
Storley said the district had spent the past several months considering contracting with a private bus service but ultimately decided against the move because of the increased cost and the impact it would have had on the district’s general fund.
As part of the annual auxiliary pay schedule, the board approved increasing bus driver compensation to $20,000 plus mileage per school year. Substitute teacher pay was also increased by $5 per day.
The superintendent said the district also plans to move forward with some larger projects, including updates to HVAC equipment and the purchase of a new school bus, as the preliminary budget reflects. The board is expected to adopt the final budget at its September meeting.
The board appointed Krissa Samson as its representative to the Northeast Cooperative Special Education Cooperative and approved its annual designations for the district’s attorney, official newspaper, bank and custodian of funds.
Storley noted the district is still seeking to fill two bus driver positions and two paraprofessional positions before the start of the school year. He also provided an update on the district’s HVAC needs.
The board approved one open enrollment application into the district and approved three pickup point requests for students attending the Britton-Hecla, Groton Area and Webster school districts.
Board members also approved several policy updates, which will be included in the official meeting minutes. The meeting concluded with an executive session for personnel, with no action taken afterward.
The board decided to move the August meeting to Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m. due to a scheduling conflict.
