Before the regularly called Pearl River County School District’s Board of Trustees meeting held Thursday evening, the Board held a budget hearing for the 2022-23 fiscal year. Chief Financial Officer and Operations Officer T.J Burleson led the hearing.

Since 2012 the Pearl River Central School district has grown in enrollment from 3,014 students in 2012 to 3,228 in 2022.

The district will receive state funds from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) for the 2023 FY in the amount of $18.7 million. Last school year the district received  $16.9 million. Other funding will come from ad valorem taxes totaling $7.9 million, of which $6.4 million will go toward operations, $1.2 million will be used to retire general obligation bonds and $320,0000 will be used to retire a three mill note.  Funding from the federal government will total $8.5 million.

Additions to the budget within the district include new athletics in the form of a high school girls volleyball program and a middle school soccer team. District wide, all salaries were increased by at latest $1.00 an hour, Burleson said.

PRCSD has a total revenue and expenditure of $27,245,342, which will be expected to break even at the end of the fiscal year.

This fiscal year’s fund balance will begin with $2.5 million. The fund balance ended the 2021 school year with $6.3 million in the account. Burleson said the reason for the decrease was a decision made by the Board in Sept. of 2021 to move $3.8 million towards capital improvements and project funds, some of which have been already utilized, including improvements to the Pearl Ricer Central Elementary School’s gym floor where the high school volleyball team will play home games.

By source, 55 percent of the revenue comes from state funds, 23 percent from federal and 22 percent from local. By expenditure function, the largest portion goes directly into the classroom instruction, covering 52 percent or $19.7 million. The next expenditure is facilities at $3.6 million or nine percent. About $1.8 million will be used to fund food service, $1.9 million for the district’s administration, $1.3 million for executive administration, $1.9 million for transportation, $1.4 million for technology, $3 million for instructional support, $918,000 for athletics and $348,181 for security.