Stephens Co. BOE Looking At Another Millage Rate Decrease

The Stephens County School System is proposing another millage rate cut in its tentative budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

On Tuesday, school system staff presented the Stephens County Board of Education with a tentative budget for Fiscal Year 2017-2018.

In that tentative budget, the proposed millage rate would be cut by one mill, taking it from 18.3 mills down to 17.3 mills.

School officials said one of the factors allowing that is an increase in state funding coming to the Stephens County school system.

According to School System Finance Director Alicia Fitzpatrick, Stephens County should see an increase in state Quality Basic Education funding of $2.3 million next fiscal year.

“I want to tell you, I was shocked when I saw that because I have never seen it go up that much, but I looked at all the surrounding counties and everybody was going up,” said Fitzpatrick.

She said those funds would cover proposed teacher pay raises put forward by the state and increases planned by the state in the retirement system.

Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey said that overall, they are pleased with the tentative budget they have put together.

“We are very pleased that we are going to be able to add back some positions, that potential of a rollback some on the millage rate,’ said Dorsey. “We are excited about where we are sitting financially as a school system.”

Dorsey said those additional positions include several teaching positions, adding an assistant prinicipal at Big A Elementary, and adding an assistant superintendent position.

He said developing future Central Office leadership is very important.

“We are blessed to have some experienced staff at our Central Office, but about 50 percent can retire immediately and about 2/3 can retire in five years, so we are also trying to develop some transition plans in our core leadership, so that when people go, there is still a knowledge base to continue moving forward,” said Dorsey.

The tentative Fiscal Year 2017-2018 general fund budget for the school system totals $34.432 million in revenues and $34.188 million in expenditures.

The school system plans to hold public hearings on the budget in April and pass the budget prior to the start of the new budget year on July 1.