Tuesday, the Poplarville School District held a public hearing to discuss the district’s annual operating budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017.
The fiscal year will begin July 1, 2016 and has a projected expenditure amount of $18.8 million, Poplarville School District Chief Financial Officer Samantha Sandifer said.
The projected total revenue for the upcoming fiscal year totals $18.7 million, she said.
During her PowerPoint presentation, Sandifer noted examples of the district’s major sources of revenue. On a local level, funding is derived from ad valorem taxes. The Mississippi Adequate Education Program is a source of state funding. Federal sources include Title I, child nutrition cluster, special education and e-rate. The district also receives income from their 16th section land leases, which includes timber sales and hunting and fishing leases, she said.
This year’s budgeted amount for each source of revenue is:
• Local: $5.5 million.
• State: $10.4 million.
• Federal: $2.4 million.
• 16th section: $334,000.
Sandifer also gave a detailed expenditure breakdown. More than 75 percent of the district’s spending is used to provide instructional services, she said.
“The Mississippi Department of Education and Legislature look at those numbers,” Sandifer said. “More than 65 percent of our funds are required to be spent in those areas.”
For fiscal year 2017, the budgeted amount for salaries is $11.2 million, employee benefits will be $3.6 million and professional services will be $716,000, Sandifer said.
The budgeted amount for property services is $839,000 and other purchased services is $399,493. Other expenses will entail student transportation, insurance, postage, advertising and travel, Sandifer explained.
The budgeted expenditure for supplies is $1.5 million and property, which includes land, buildings and equipment, is expected to be $286,000. The budgeted expenditure amount for “other uses” is $266,000. Examples of other uses includes debt principal, interest, dues and fees, Sandifer said.
Some of the major budgetary items for the 2017 fiscal year includes the purchase of Chromebooks, the completion of handicapped parking at the high school, the possible renovation of the high school’s cafeteria, two special education teachers at the upper elementary and middle school and a fire alarm system. Each year, the district tries to purchase one or two buses, depending on funding, Sandifer added.
Since the 2012-2013 school year, the district has asked for the same ad valorem tax millage rate, which is 57 operation mills and 3 mills for debt service, for a total of 60 mills, according to Sandifer’s presentation.
Those numbers are not likely to go up, Sandifer said.
The Board is expected to adopt the budget at their next meeting, which will be held on July 18 at 6 p.m. in the boardroom at their district office on Julia Street.