Friday, May 4, 2001

Board mulls millage rate increase By JOHN THOMPSON jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com The good news is that Superintendent of Education Richard Brooks is presenting a balanced budget to the school board next week. The bad news is that it does not include additions to White Oak Elementary and Poplar Road Elementary schools. The fiscal realities of not having the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax passed by the voters in March is now being felt as board members work through this year's budget. Brooks said he left those items out of the budget, along with lowering classroom sizes because the system does not have the money. If the tax would have passed, school officials could have borrowed against it and started on some projects this summer. Instead, the board is dealing with proposals that could be postponed indefinitely. "The only choice the board has is to leave the programs out of the budget or raise the millage rate," Brooks said. School officials are mulling over the possibility of calling for another sales tax vote next March, but in the meantime, are trying to deal with financial strains of a growing school system. The board's budget must be approved by June 30 and Brooks believes the board will have to make tough decisions by the time the final approval date arrives. The board is expected to discuss the budget during its 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday at Ruth Hill Elementary.   What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to News Home Page | Back to the top of the page