HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – An audit report for the district and a first look at the budget for the new school year was discussed by the Christian County Board of Education Thursday night. Leading up to financial talks, the Jan. 15 meeting began with the chair and vice chair election.

Members of the board voted to permit Tom Bell to continue serving as Board Chairman, voicing that Bell has done a lot of work for CCPS students and deserved to keep the title. Lindsey Clark also held onto his position as Vice-Chairman.

Clean audit for district, no findings reported

An auditor’s report was presented to the school board, where auditor Anna Herr summarized findings for the district from the fiscal year ending in June 2025. She said that despite large capital investment in construction for the new Christian County High School, this audit came out clean with zero findings.

“From an audit standpoint we paid particular attention to the capital expenditures and construction activity due to the size of this project, and no issues were identified in that area,” said Herr. “Overall, the financial audit results indicate the district remains financially stable, compliant with all of the applicable state and federal requirements and is appropriately managing a very large capital project.”

Herr went on the commend the district for having no findings in their audit report, and for successfully resolving and responding to seven findings that were reported last fiscal year. The full 139-page audit report can be found on the Christian County Public Schools website.

| EDUCATION NEWS: Read more from Christian County Schools

Draft budget update for CCPS

Director of Finance Jessica Darnell presented an early draft of a budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, which projected possible funding allocations in an effort to initiate discussion and planning for the next school year. She described the draft as “fluid” with estimates on incoming SEEK and federal funding.

At this time, the district intends to act on recommendations from the Salary Schedule Committee, which includes various changes to levels and a reorganization of salary schedules. This also includes a proposed 3% increase in salary on most levels for staff. These raises would be in addition to the $1,000 stipend that CCPS has been offering for three years.

Darnell is currently estimating a $2 million decrease in SEEK funding for next school year, leaving them with around $31 million. The district will carry forward around $10 million in current into the new fiscal year, which is a decrease of $4 million from last year. A more solidified tentative budget does not have to be approved by the board until May.

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