The Lowndes County School District on Friday unanimously approved sending a resolution requesting funding for the 2016-17 fiscal year to the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors.
LCSD’s request seeks $15.04 million in local funding for the year from ad valorem taxes. That does not include a roughly $636,000 budget shortfall for which the district will have to tap its reserves to avoid a tax increase, said Board Attorney Jeff Smith. By pulling the shortfall from reserves, the district’s millage rate will remain 46.71.
LCSD has about $10.2 million in its reserves, according to district Business Officer Kenneth Hughes.
Hughes said the district expected a mill values of about $334,000 when calculating its budget earlier in the year. However, after Lowndes County Tax Assessor Greg Andrews completed a reassessment in the summer, the mill value came in at $318,000, leaving a gap in funding for the district to fill.
Andrews previously told The Dispatch the drop in mill value is due to a decrease in the assessed value of personal property through depreciation. The assessed value of personal property fell from $132.08 million in 2015-16 to $118.85 million in 2016-17.
The board approved a $97.5 million budget for fiscal year 2016-17 in July. The budget includes more than $37 million in construction projects, funded through money from a $44 million bond issue from last year, the district’s fund balance and lease-purchases.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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