Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Superintendent Eddie Peasant’s first budget for operations is a leaner, trimmer document compared to its previous counterpart that juggles decreasing Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding and internal cuts, all while growing the district’s ending fund balance without calling for a tax increase.
While the Fiscal Year 2017-18 budget, which is expected to be approved by trustees next week, cuts many line items — classroom supplies (10 percent); athletics (10 percent); supplies and services for district security (10 percent), maintenance (5 percent) and transportation (3 percent) supplies, technology (10 percent), among others — Peasant said the district is not reducing salaries or positions and will continue to operate effectively as it “tightens its belt.”
Those cuts, Peasant said, were put into the budget before district officials learned a county school mill is expected to increase in value by about $15,500 for SOCSD’s upcoming fiscal year and bring in $361,483.
The district will not ask for a tax increase and will continue to operate on an almost 66-mill levy, and the mill’s growth, he said, could allow trustees to come back and address those cuts as needed and grow SOCSD’s ending fund balance to about $8 million by 2018.
A stronger ending fund balance means the district will not issue a tax anticipation note — indebtedness that carries the district between the beginning of its fiscal year (July 1) and the start of the county government’s fiscal year (Oct. 1) — for the first time in years.
“(The cuts mean) we’ll just have to readjust some of our expenditures in those departments. They’re nothing that will negatively affect the district. We’re going to operate where we are. If there are needs that arise, we feel confident we can accommodate them,” Peasant said. “We’re very fortunate to have (SOCSD Chief Financial Officer) Tammie McGarr taking care of our business. She has done a great job helping us to monitor and maintain, while also helping us grow. She deserves a lot of credit for where we are now.”
Expenses
On paper, the school district’s budget shows its $81.03 million in expected expenditures outpacing the $58.06 million it expects to receive from local, state and federal sources, but those expenses are inflated by previously planned — and financially covered — construction efforts.
Instruction makes up the lion’s share of SOCSD expenses — about 35 percent of overall spending — and is budgeted at $28.42 million. Funding for facilities acquisition and construction ($22.52 million), support services ($19.2 million), non-instructional services ($5.75 million) and 16th section land ($64,350) round out the district’s different areas of expense, while SOCSD will also pledge $5.07 million toward debt service.
Salaries — an estimated $35.77 million — again make up the district’s single largest line item.
While the district will cut some of its departments’ operating and supply budgets, it is adding new positions. SOCSD’s district maintenance fund will pay for a new school safety officer at Overstreet Elementary, while its local special education allocation will hire three new SPED teachers for Starkville High School and one each for Overstreet and Armstrong Middle School. That fund will also pay for a speech language pathologist at West Elementary and a hearing impaired teacher at Armstrong.
Additionally, SOCSD will add a law and public safety teacher at the Millsaps Career and Technology Center and a sports medicine position.
Revenue
Of the $58.06 million SOCSD expects to receive in the upcoming fiscal year, most will come from local (43.55 percent) and state (42.68 percent) sources.
Approximately $25.29 million will come from ad valorem receipts, daily food sales and other local sources, while the state is expected to provide about $24.78 million.
Locally, the district is at the 55-mill cap for operations, while 10 mills pay for debt service and a 1-mill levy supports Millsaps’ vocational programs. Those local taxes will provide $23.86 million to the district.
SOCSD’s upcoming fiscal year MAEP receipt — $22.78 million — is expected to be down $131,409 from FY 2016-17.
Approximately $7.82 million from federal sources — Title 1 and 2 monies and other programs, grants and provisions — and an estimated $167,800 from 16th section sources round out the district’s revenue streams.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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