STARKVILLE – A board of aldermen work session grew contentious Friday following a status update on the new Starkville High School after Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District officials failed to provide an estimate on how taxpayers could be affected by the board’s decision to borrow $101 million.
The SOCSD Board of Trustees voted May 12 to authorize the bond, which will hit the books in a year that Oktibbeha County taxpayers are already bracing for another potential tax increase due to adjustments in the state’s assessment manual.
During the meeting, Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, who represents Ward 6, asked SOCSD Superintendent Tony McGee to provide his most informed estimate on how much the district’s millage rate will increase – to which McGee said he simply had no answer.
“We are … 32 days before your new budget,” Perkins said. “You don’t have that information? … Are you telling the vice mayor that you don’t know how many mills your millage rate is going to increase?”
McGee, again, said he did not. Perkins, after first thanking McGee for his professionalism, pressed further.
“The reason I asked you that question … is because I haven’t gotten an answer to it,” Perkins said. “If you don’t have an answer to it, that means you don’t know. That’s what you told me. … I have constituents throughout this city … who ask me about this tax impact. What information can you share with me today?”
SOCSD Board of Trustees President Sumner Davis quickly jumped in, explaining the district would not have to approve its budget or request its millage levy until August, after the new assessment values are given to the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors.
A mill is used to measure property taxes. A 1-mill increase, for example, would add $10 to a homeowner’s tax bill per every $100,000 of value and $15 per every $100,000 to commercial properties, including rent houses and apartments.
A Dispatch analysis of bond terms and available tax data found the debt service on the new school alone could raise the tax rate by 6.5 mills, meaning homeowners could pay about $65 more annually per $100,000 of property value to service the high school debt alone, excluding any future city, county or school tax increases.
Under bond terms approved by the school board, the debt will be repaid over as many as 27 years at an interest rate no higher than 7%.
The estimate takes into account updated Mississippi Department of Revenue appraisal values that will take effect this year. The changes increased assessed property values countywide and, consequently, is expected to raise the taxable value of homes and businesses by an average of 20%, meaning taxpayers would still pay more even with no change to the tax rate.
Davis explained to aldermen Friday that the district would not have a clear picture on how the school bond will impact taxpayers until at least July. He did suggest SOCSD could cut what it collects for general operations to defray the additional debt mills.
“… When you factor everything in, if the millage rate goes up, it’s going to be very slight,” he said. “… But there’s not a person in the world that can give you the answer you’re looking for because of those various factors that nobody has the answers to yet.”
Lack of communication
Earlier in the meeting, Perkins, following the lead of Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn, also questioned whether residents had enough opportunity to weigh in before SOCSD approved borrowing the $101 million, which concluded a two-year process to determine how much would be needed for the estimated $127 million school.
During Friday’s meeting, Vaughn asked McGee and Davis why voters were not asked to approve the borrowing through a referendum, a public election allowing residents to vote directly on the debt.
Davis said state law only requires the district to publicly advertise its intent to borrow money, after which voters may force a referendum by submitting a petition within a designated period. In this case, no qualifying petition was filed.
Vaughn said many residents, like himself, were unaware of the proposal.
“A lot of people said, ‘Why did nobody know about it?’” Vaughn said. “… I’m a board member, and I didn’t know about it. … If nobody is there to contest (the bond), you can’t do nothing but pass it. How did that happen?”
SOCSD’s board approved all bond-related measures in public meetings. The Dispatch reported on each of those, including the windows for citizens to file petitions for a reverse referendum.
The district first approved a resolution in June 2023 declaring its intent to borrow up to $87 million for facility improvements. Under state law, voters then had three weeks to petition for a referendum. No petition was filed.
The board later borrowed $1 million from that authorization to fund a facilities study that ultimately supported construction of a new high school.
In June 2025, trustees increased the borrowing capacity to $125 million, citing rising construction costs. That action opened a second opportunity for voters to petition for a referendum, requiring signatures from at least 20% of qualified district electors. Again, no qualifying petition was submitted.
As a result, the district was able to proceed with the borrowing plan without an election.
“I don’t know how to tell you,” Davis told Vaughn on Friday. “We meet in public. We discuss things in public. We’ve had these discussions in public. We’d be happy to address any of these issues going forward and will say I’m sorry if people feel like they didn’t know – apologize to them.”
He added that the district would make a “concerted effort” to improve communication.
Perkins echoed Vaughn’s concerns, saying residents lacked meaningful opportunities to provide input before plans advanced.
“We understand how the public meetings law works,” Perkins said. “… But at the same time … this is information … that should have been provided to us before the first bit of dirt was moved by any machinery. We need to be fully informed.”
Closing the presentation, Mayor Lynn Spruill said residents also bear responsibility for staying engaged with local government.
“People talk to us all the time about ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’ And how much can you push out and how much can you depend on social media and … the press?” Spruill said. “And all of that requires community engagement, which means you can’t just sit back and let it come to you, you’ve got to participate in the knowledge base.”
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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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
