Crawford County R-1 Superintendent Brian Witt asked board members on July 16 if they were interested in taking on a $15,000 Hudl subscription. The sports video analysis service significantly increased the monthly subscription cost for the 2026-27 school year.

“So this is quite the increase. Part of it is A, they’re increasing, but part of it is we’re going to the full package, including baseball and softball, and adding cameras down there as well for those platforms,” Witt said. “Besides the ability of the streaming, this also does the statistics. It does clips for recruiting. It does the things where coaches can look and prep for opponents as well.”

Hudl also allows livestreaming for those who can’t make it. It allows players to analyze games. as well.

Their current subscription is about $7,000, and it would be approximately $10,000 with the regular price increase, but adding baseball and softball would increase the price by about $5,000.

Board Member Stephen Waldron said that he is concerned about the high price when they have been talking about cutting expenses across the district.

“I just know that whenever we start looking at making, you know, $750,000 in cuts for the district, and we’re looking at academic stuff that has to be cut and staff that we have to not replace,” Waldron said. “I know it’s only $15 grand out of $12 million or whatever it is we have, but the fact is we’re deficit spending already for next year.”

On the other side of the discussion, Witt is confident that if the coaches were asked if they wanted to push a uniform rotation off a year to keep Hudl, they would do it.

“There’s probably going to be a different revenue source to help do a package with this because, no, I’m telling you like, they’re gonna find a way to do it. Like, you know, if it’s gonna be a fundraiser or if it’s gonna be, you know, a donation or whatever,” Witt said.

Board Member Ryan Cole said that they could always go back to Hudl once the budget is more stable and they have the money for it.

“It’s more accurate than where some kids write down in the scorebook, so that helps some of the athletes maybe get a scholarship or something possibly, but how many…are we giving scholarships to athletes?” Cole said.

They tabled the decision for the Aug. 17 meeting, so they can look at other subscription package options.

Witt updated the board on the progress of the district’s bond projects.

Design work has started for the Bourbon High School entrance and parking lot improvement, and bids for the entrance project are estimated to be advertised in August and due in September. The front entrance vestibule is expected to be completed before the end of 2026. To maintain access to the building during the parking lot construction and during school activities, it may be completed in phases.

Design work continues for the Bourbon High School gym HVAC project, with bidding possibly opening in September.

Additional roofing work is currently on hold while Mesa Underwriters Specialty Insurance Company (MUSIC) and the insurance company’s consultant review possible storm damage coverage.

Witt said that once the review is complete, the design team expects to move forward with the necessary field surveys to determine the final scope of the project.

A motion to accept the construction agreement with Meinershagen Roofing and Sheet Metal for the Bourbon Elementary and Middle School roofing replacement project was approved with a 6-0 vote.

Construction is expected to start in early August.

In other business, a motion to accept an agreement with Bryan Rush for $11,250 for professional development and board training services was approved with a 6-0 vote.

The board also discussed a proposed resolution to publicly declare the district’s stance on Amendment 5 that will be on the Aug. 4 ballot, and its potential effect on public education funding.

No action was taken.

While looking at the board meeting calendar for the 2026-27 school year, some of the members had conflicts, which they resolved. All the new meeting dates for the school year have been posted under the “board meetings” tab on the district website.