The 2010-2011 Columbus Municipal School District budget is $6 million lighter than last year”s budget, yet still came in almost $1 million under expenditures, officials said Tuesday at a public hearing.
The district managed to trim 39 jobs from its payroll following the 2009-2010 school year, scaling back to 615 positions districtwide. Superintendent Del Phillips pointed out Tuesday during a special called CMSD board meeting that not all of those positions are filled.
“Some of those slots in there are currently open, but they”re budgeted,” Phillips said of the jobs.
Twenty three of the reduced jobs were certified teachers, but the district”s student/teacher ratio remains around 19 to 1.
All Mississippi school districts have been forced to make drastic cuts in the face of falling state and local tax revenues, but Phillips said CMSD began plotting its course in November and was able to leave $965,371 in surplus. The savings came from shaving jobs, but also from decreasing the pay of every non-teacher working for the district.
Furthermore, the budget is based on the smaller of two Mississippi Adequate Education Program bills currently before the House of Representatives. The smaller bill allocates CMSD $18 million in MAEP funds while the larger allocates $18.3 million.
The bad news, says Phillips, is that “even that $18 million could go down.”
“If we get cut next year like we did this year there will be another reduction in pay and a possible dip in programs,” he said.
Overall, CMSD anticipates spending $44.1 million in 2010-2011. Local revenues account for just under $15 million while state revenues account for $19.2 million and federal funds provide $9.8 million.
Ad valorem taxes comprise $13.7 million of local revenues, up $380,000 from 2009-2010. State MAEP funds are expected to fall to $18,056,453.
Millage is expected to remain unchanged.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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