Cost of Education on the Rise

Courtsey of WRBE, "Your Hometown Radio"
The cost of education is going up by an estimated $1.8 Million for local students according to George County School District Business Manager Stu White.
During a public hearing on Tuesday evening, White said there was an estimated 5% increase in the budget from $37,106,346 for the 2006-07 fiscal year to an estimated $38,976, 914 for the 2007-08 fiscal year., but for the first time in recent years, the budget will be in the black.
This year the school district will operate with a balanced budget, thanks to additional state funding. For the past two years, the school budget has seen small deficits but the deficits were covered by reserve funds.
Approximately 53% of the total budget is spent on instructional services, which includes teacher salaries, benefits and supplies, according to White, with the district employing 371 teachers and assistant teachers of the 610 total employees.
The funds used by the school district comes from federal, state and local governments, with only a small amount of local taxes used by our local school district, according to White. State laws regulate the amount of local millage that can be used to fund schools, which could be as much as 55 mills, but the local school board has chosen NOT to ask for the full amount to fund George County Schools. White said the amount of mills used by our school district has actually decreased in recent years and is now down to 35 mills, even though the value of each mill has increased.
The amount of state funding expected by the school district this year has increase due to the state government fully funding the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), which is the state's portion of the education bill. An increase of $3 Million is expected in the state funding, which will bring the total amount expected to a little more than $24 million.
While the state funding is increasing for this fiscal year, the amount expected from federal funds is expected to decrease from $6.7 Million to around $4 Million.
The school board members have already met in several work sessions to discuss budget priorities and the amount of money the district will be spending next year, White said. The board is expected to approve the budget the next scheduled meeting, on Monday, July 2.
"Special Thanks" to local reporter Royce Armstrong for his assistance with this report.