Stephens Co. BOE Approves FY 16 Budget

The Stephens County school system has its budget in place for Fiscal Year 2016.

At a called meeting on Monday, the Stephens County Board of Education unanimously approved the final budget for the fiscal year that got underway back on July 1 and runs through June 30, 2016.

Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey said there were no additional changes from the tentative Fiscal Year 2016 budget that the school board approved last month.

The Stephens County School System’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget lowers the millage rate from 20 mills to 19.75 mills and also lowers the number of calendar reduction days by four, from 16 to 12.

Stephens County Board of Education Chairman Tony Crunkleton said he and the board are pleased with the budget.

“Mr. Dorsey and his staff have done an excellent job preparing the budget and this is the type of the budget we were hoping for,” said Crunkleton.

He said the goal is to keep working on lowering the millage rate and restoring calendar days.

“I think we are headed in the right direction,” said Crunkleton. “We are not done yet. We still have a lot of work to do. We are pleased with everything the staff has done to help us get to this point.”

The school system’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget brings in $33,528,505 in projected revenues and spends $30,663,108 in projected expenditures.

Dorsey said that leaves an estimated fund balance of $2,862,390 as of the end of Fiscal Year 2016.

According to Dorsey, starting a fund balance is important to move the school system away from borrowing money and to give it some financial security.

He said his eventual goal is a $5 million fund balance, which he says would eliminate the need for the school system to borrow money to fund operations until tax revenue came in.