Oktibbeha County school officials approved the special education budget for the coming year in a short meeting where they handled some year-end matters.
All board members were present for the meeting which was held in the supervisors” boardroom of the Oktibbeha County Courthouse. The meeting was to have been the first in the district”s new central office, but the building is still not fully finished.
The board signed off on two parts of the budget for the district”s special education program, although the district hasn”t gotten its special education allocation yet from the state.
“I took last year”s budget, reduced it by 15 percent and used those figures,” said Candace Cooper, special education director for the district.
Superintendent James Covington said this part of the special education budget that Cooper oversees is anticipated at about $320,000. The school district pays for the special education teachers and oversees about $900,000 more in special education funding for a total of about $1.2 million, Covington said.
When the state makes the special education allocation, actual figures will replace the estimations. The majority of this special-education funding goes for salaries for those who work in special education other than teachers.
Students with disabilities are included in the traditional classroom setting as much as possible. Children can be referred to special education for a number of reasons, the most prevalent of which is speech and language production or comprehension, accounting for about half of students in the programs. Other reasons include learning disabilities, physical impairment and autism.
Cooper said this part of the budget calls for some equipment purchases. These include a projector and screen for training, Smart boards for West Oktibbeha Elementary School and a washer and drier for West Oktibbeha County High School.
The board typically reviews the district”s financial status in the form of a budget update at each meeting, but Superintendent James Covington said year-end figures are not available. The district”s fiscal year began July 1, but the books cannot be closed yet on the 2010-2011 year.
District business manager Verlie Floyd said she expects the year to end well.
“I have looked at (budget data), and it seems we are in good shape,” Floyd said.
Covington added that the district should meet the 8 percent fund balance goal it set for itself for the year. Actual numbers should be available by the August meeting.
The Oktibbeha County School District will hold a public hearing on the overall budget Aug. 2, and will approve it in a special called meeting Aug. 9, Covington said. He said the total budget of about $12 million must be approved by Aug. 15.
The board will meet again July 18 at 6 p.m. for a special called meeting, mostly to handle items of business lost in the shuffle as the central offices move from their old location off Louisville Street to their new building.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.