Published: July 10, 2009 08:42 am      

PRC passes budget; changes uniforms

CARRIERE — With the state finally signing legislature that will fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program with some of the federal stimulus money, Pearl River Central School District won’t have into dip into its fund balance for nearly $1 million to balance its budget for the 2009 - 2010 school year.

“For us, that meant another $500,000,” explained PRC business director Megan St. Clair. That means, she continued, that instead of using $1.1 million of the rainy day money, the district is only looking at using $400,000. That will leave approximately $3.5 million in the fund balance.

Unfortunately, said St. Clair, the district still does not know how the budget will affect the property taxes of homeowners, pointing to the fact that the county has still time before their budget numbers are due, thus holding up the exact figures the district will receive. “I predict that if (the school taxes) goes up, it will only be a mill,” said St. Clair.

The school district, like many others across Mississippi, had struggled with budget cuts this year and uncertainty of exactly what the state would fund with the state legislature and governor’s office squabbling over whether to include the stimulus money in this year’s budget or hold it until next year. The state compromised using some of the stimulus money, thus allowing for a full allocation for the PRC school district.

PRC has predicted an increase of 2.62 mills with the passing of this year‘s budget, but St. Clair cautioned that the numbers are deceiving.

For example, she explained, last year the district had predicted an increase of 3.43 mills, but when the numbers were finally in from the county and state, the tax levy actually decreased.

But she said, new assessments of properties, some not re-assessed in years, had caused many property taxes to increase.

St. Clair noted that only 19 percent of the budget is composed of funds from the taxes and that the majority, 51 percent, comes from state aid. St. Clair said that even if the taxes do rise, property owners are only looking at an actual small increase in their school taxes. “Based on an assessed value of a $100,000 home, you could see a possible increase of $15.60,” said St. Clair.

In other business, the school district approved changes to the school uniforms this year. According to assistant school district superintendent Nina Guthrie, all grades went from navy and khaki colors for pants and skirts to khaki only, while the shirts at the middle school will now be navy blue only.

Ninth graders will wear only gray shirts, and tenth through twelfth will wear royal blue shirts.

The changes in the school uniforms brought a complaint from an area grandmother who had purchased the uniforms for her granddaughters when they registered for Kindergarten in March.

“When we registered them, they gave us a packet of papers that said blue or khaki,” explained Judy Kuypers. “So we went out and brought them blue because we thought being the age they are, it wouldn’t show the dirt as much.”

Continuing, she said that now she doesn’t know what to do with the blue uniforms. “We threw away the receipt,” said Kuypers. “This change in uniform has some parents up in arms.”

School board member Jeff Jones suggested that perhaps Kuypers had purchased the uniforms a little prematurely, noting that the papers she had received were from last year‘s school handbook.

“Most parents wait until the start of school to buy the uniforms because if you buy them too soon, they’ll be out of them by December,” said Jones.

Guthrie suggested Kuypers speak with a teacher at the elementary school who helps by swapping out uniforms or to look into trading them with a parent from the Picayune or Hancock school districts.

Though somewhat accepting of the suggestions, Kuypers said the change was still going to throw some people off. “This is $70 worth of uniforms that on good faith we brought these uniforms,” said Kuypers. “See the problem you create?”

The district switched to uniforms several years back.