The Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees approved its 2016-17 budget earlier this week.
The nearly $43 million budget includes a $697,511.71 deficit created by debt service obligations, which the district will cover with reserve funds. The general operating budget, which is balanced, is about $24.5 million.
“We are pleased to have a budget in place to ensure that the district can continue to properly educate the children of Columbus,” Board President Angela Verdell said.
The board pushed through the budget with a 4-1 vote. Trustee Jason Spears opposed it.
Spears told The Dispatch he voted against the budget because he thought certain central office positions could be cut to save money. However, he would not specify on the record which positions he thought CMSD could do without.
Spears also said he had asked district administration questions regarding specific cuts and other issues in the budget that he felt were never adequately answered.
“There were some … questions that I had repeatedly inquired about that just, I never got an answer,” Spears said.
The total ad valorem tax request from the city was $12,478,433, a decrease of $59,000 from last year’s request.
The administration had previously reported it may need to ask for a tax increase of between $1 million and $1.4 million. However, the district later opted to dip into reserve funds to cover its deficit and not ask for higher taxes. CMSD’s millage rate for the school year will remain 61.59.
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