Although its funding request for next year will go up slightly, Lowndes County School District Administrator Kenneth Hughes doesn’t expect to see an increase in millage when the district presents its budget for 2017.
“My marching orders are to keep funding at that 46.71 mills that we are currently funded at,” Hughes said Wednesday.
According to the budget estimate Hughes provided to the school board during a specially called meeting of the district board of trustees, the district will be asking for roughly $58,000 more than last year. That’s an increase of 0.37 percent.
Hughes said he felt comfortable that he would be able to stay at the current millage, either through additional income that might emerge by the end of June, which closes the books on the fiscal year, or an increase in the valuation of the county’s millage.
“I really don’t anticipate any problems,” added Hughes.
The district will hold its public hearing on the budget at 5 p.m. on June 28 at the district’s office.
The situation is much the same in Starkville and Noxubee County.
Starkville-Oktibbeha
“We’re not looking to increase the millage,” said Tammy McGarr, comptroller for the Starkville-Oktibbeha School District. “Even though we are looking at approximately $2.8 million more than last year’s budget, we believe that increase will be covered by our revenue. We are also looking for the mill value to increase. We’re not finished with the budget, but right now I don’t anticipate that we will need to ask for a millage increase.”
The Starkville-Oktibbeha School District’s public hearing on the budget will be held at 6 p.m. on July 14 at the Greensboro Center.
Noxubee
Mary Bland, business manager for the Noxubee County School District also said she didn’t expect a millage increase.
“Our situation looks to be fine as far as the ad valorem funding goes,” Bland said. “I’m not finished with the budget yet, so I can’t say for sure, but it doesn’t look as though we’ll need an increase in county funding. If we do, it shouldn’t be very much at all.”
The district’s public hearing on the budget will be held at 1 p.m. on June 30 at district’s administrative offices.
Other districts
The Dispatch previously reported Columbus Municipal School District may request as much as a 6.1 mill increase, though budget talks continue. CMSD will hold a budget hearing on June 30 at 5 p.m. at Brandon Central Services.
Susan Cothren, business manager for the West Point Consolidated School District, could not be reached Wednesday. West Point’s public hearing on the budget will be held at 5:30 p.m. on June 27 at the superintendent’s office.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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