The superintendent of the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District explained the need for a 2% tax increase to the Leflore County Board of Supervisors on Monday.
James Johnson-Waldington said the increase would be a safety net for the school district’s budget.
“We’re not cutting from the kids, but we’re also making sure we’re not being frivolous with the children’s money,” he said.
The school board voted last month for the tax increase, which would add $239,830 to the budget, according to information from the district.
The fiscal 2022-2023 budget goes into effect Oct. 1. Revenues of $66.1 million from federal, state and local taxes are expected.
Under state law, the Board of Supervisors has no authority over the school budget. Its only role is to set the property tax rate that would produce the local revenue sought by the school district.
Still, District 1 Supervisor Sam Abraham said he was “just very uncomfortable voting for a tax increase right now.”
He said he would prefer that the school district raise taxes by 4% next year rather than 2% this year and 2% the next but “could understand raising taxes if we have to.”
Johnson-Waldington said that someone from the district would appear before the supervisors if the district does not need to use all of the money for which it is budgeting.
Also Monday, the board voted in favor of hiring a consultant to help evaluate lease proposals on Greenwood Leflore Hospital.
The county and the city of Greenwood, which jointly own the financially troubled hospital, have advertised for proposals on a lease of 20 to 50 years. The deadline for bids to be submitted is Aug. 31.
The consultant, Sam Odle — senior adviser for the Bose Public Affairs group out of Indianapolis — will be responsible for advising the city and county in processing those proposals.
The board also approved:
- Accepting a $60,000 rural business development grant to pay for a new ventilation system at The Bread and Butter Shoppe, located at 500 Howard St. in downtown Greenwood.
The vote was 4-1, with Abraham casting the dissenting vote.
The grant is provided by the North Central Planning and Development District to Leflore County, and The Bread and Butter Shoppe is responsible for paying the county back for the financial assistance.
The board is supposed to receive the application at its next scheduled meeting but approved going forward, pending a legal review by Board Attorney Joyce Chiles, due to the time-sensitive nature of the grant.
“We need to get as much as we can for the businesses of Leflore County,” said board President Robert Collins.
- The use of money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to fund water and sewage upgrades in Schlater. The board’s approval was pending the advice of the Butler Snow law firm, which notified the board that this is a permissible use of ARPA funds.
District 3’s Anjuan Brown made the motion to sign the contract between the county and town of Schlater, subject to Chiles’ review of it.
- The hiring of a new agricultural resource agent, whose salary will be paid by Mississippi State University.
- Cutting down trees on Elzy Road to help facilitate safety and prevent trespassers on school property.
- A test of the county emergency sirens at noon Wednesday.
All of the sirens except two — for which replacement parts are on the way — are functional again, said Leflore County Emergency Management Director Fred Randle.
- Road work worth $80,000 on County Road 441, to be taken out of a 2022-23 bond issue, as well as $185,000 worth of road work on Country Club Drive. Funds for the latter project will come from either ARPA money or bond money.
The board will meet again at 4 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the county budget.
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
