Greenwood Public Schools will not be requesting a tax increase for the upcoming year.
The amount requested from local taxpayers at Thursday’s public budget hearing is $5,768,724, the same amount requested last year.
The current millage rate is 55 mills, the maximum rate allowed by law.
The district’s total proposed budget for 2017-18 is $21.8 million, a $400,000 increase over last year, with a little more than $19 million coming from state and local sources and the rest largely from federal sources.
The district has budgeted for decreasing revenues from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), which was not fully funded by the state Legislature this year.
MAEP funds for the upcoming year make up $11.5 million of the Greenwood schools’ budget revenues, whereas last year they stood at $12.03 million.
The district is expecting an increase in state funding from the special revenue basket which includes specific programs and incentives at the district level that do not fall under the general fund.
The bulk of federal funds fall under special revenues as well, including Title I funding or financial assistance to schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families. School lunch programs and Title II funds also fall in this category.
The district budgeted for slightly lower federal revenues in the upcoming year in response to budget proposals in Washington.
The budget is an estimate of anticipated expenditures and revenues and serves as a broad guideline for financial management.
On the revenue side, the proposed budget presented at Thursday’s public hearing does not include state and federal grant awards that will be added upon final approval from funding sources.
Regarding expenditures, certain items do not appear on the proposed budget, such as funds for repairs to buildings for which funding has been sought but not yet received.
A breakdown of proposed expenditures shows $10.8 million going toward instruction, $8.1 million for support services and $2.1 million for noninstructional services with $1 million earmarked for debt service.
The budget presentation, prepared by Superintendent Jennifer Wilson and Director of Business and Finance Temeka Jones, showed an increase in enrollment of about 200 students for the new school year.
Mississippi law requires that a proposed budget be in place by Aug, 15.
The board of trustees will meet at 5 p.m. next Thursday to officially adopt the 2017-18 budget, and the public is invited to attend. The meeting will be held at Greenwood Middle School.
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
