The Lowndes County School District Board of Trustees hosted a public hearing Monday to review the district budget for Fiscal Year 2016, which begins July 1.
LCSD business manager Lotis Johnson, who is leaving the district and will be replaced by former Columbus Municipal School District business manager Kenneth Hughes, addressed the board and public about the state of finances.
Johnson said the district is projecting $53,930,068 in revenues and $121,138,679 in expenditures. The discrepancy comes from $62 million in construction costs budgeted for FY2016, including the $44 million in the bond issue passed by voters May 12. Johnson said she had to account for that money somewhere in the report and listed it as an expense under construction. The district has yet to issue the bonds, but issuing all $44 million at once is unlikely. The majority of the money will be needed for the projects in 2017, according to architect Joey Henderson.
Expenditures outside construction include a projected $28.7 million in instructional services; $24.4 million in support services; $2.1 million in non-instructional services; $3.2 million in debt service; and $129,754 in 16th Section land.
District revenue stems from four sources: $24.8 million, or 46 percent, from local taxes; $23.9 million, 44 percent, from state funding; $4.9 million, 9 percent, from the federal government; and $211,685, 1 percent, from 16th Section land. Johnson and federal programs coordinator assistant superintendent Dr. Peggy Rodgers said money from the feds has been decreasing regularly in recent years.
“This is the first year I’ve seen where our local percentage is higher than the state percentage,” Johnson said.
Locally, ad valorem taxes will contribute a projected $15,787,975 in FY2016, an increase of about $325,000 from last year. Johnson said her projection was “very conservative” and there could be more in ad valorem for next year, but she has to wait for Lowndes County Tax Assessor Greg Andrews to complete his valuation. Johnson said she used $338,000 per mill with 46.71 mills to calculate her projections. Andrews has told her that number will be higher. In-lieu tax revenues continue to increase in FY2016; Johnson is projecting $7,050,000 from in-lieu taxes as more companies roll off their tax breaks, up $200,000 from last year. She described her in-lieu projection as “very modest” and said the real number could be higher.
The district is seeing an increase in state funds from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. FY2016 will bring $22,266,890 from MAEP, an up-tick of more than $2 million from FY2015. Johnson said the district would receive $24,246,000 if the state legislature fully funded MAEP. LCSD attorney Jeff Smith, a Republican in the state house of representatives, said MAEP is now 94 percent funded by the state.
Johnson said the Mississippi Department of Education bases MAEP money allocation based on average daily attendance during the months of October and November. LCSD has a membership of 5,143 students and was administered MAEP funds based on ADA of 4,759 from last fall, an increase of 58 from FY2015.
Johnson projects LCSD will finish FY2015 with a general fund balance of $10 million. She projects there will be $10.5 million in the district general fund balance at the close of FY2016.
Board members will meet to officially pass the budget at 5:30 p.m. June 30 in the central district office.
Cost per pupil
The district projects spending $23,601 per pupil in FY2016; $10,278 excluding construction, which Johnson said is the more accurate figure. Cost per pupil varies throughout the district depending on school size. From state and local funding, Caledonia Elementary will spend around $6,100 per student; Caledonia Middle School projects exactly $6,000 per pupil; and Caledonia High School will spend $7,600. New Hope Elementary projects $6,000 per pupil; New Hope Middle School will spend $6,400; and New Hope High School projects $7,095. West Lowndes Elementary will spend $8,561; West Lowndes High School projects $13,395.
Smith told the board at the preliminary budget meeting last Wednesday that statewide districts average around $14,000 per pupil.
“We’re spending a good bit less than other districts in the state,” Johnson agreed.
West Lowndes to change free and reduced lunch policy, get additional nurse
At last Wednesday’s budget review meeting the board voted to add the salary for an additional nurse at the West Lowndes campus. Superintendent Lynn Wright said the position was needed to supervise the conditions of two students who can become non-responsive within 10 minutes.
“We have some people with some critical needs over there,” Wright said.
The board voted unanimously to include the position in the budget.
Rodgers also informed the board last Wednesday that the West Lowndes Campus would no longer universally qualify for free and reduced lunch via a federal program as it did last school year. She said federal law says only a district as a whole can benefit from the program, not individual schools.
“You either do it for the whole district or for none of it,” she said.
Rodgers recommended the district have all families apply for reduced meal costs individually. She said someone at the Office of Child Nutrition told West Lowndes the entire campus qualified last year, but that had been an error. Board members were shocked to find the program wouldn’t last.
“I remember when it was presented it was like a gift from heaven,” said board member Wesley Barrett. “Boom. Everyone at West Lowndes gets a free meal.”
No action was taken, but the board will likely take up the issue at the July board meeting.
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