HPSD eyeing $100,000
Hattiesburg Public School District will ask for $100,000 in taxes associated with new property to help balance its budget for 2014-15.
The district’s chief financial officer, Terry Stennis, made the announcement during a school board budget hearing Tuesday.
Stennis said he couldn’t say whether that request would raise the millage for all property owners because the school district doesn’t set millage.
“What we’re going to be asking is the same amount of money they (Hattiesburg City Council) sent us last year, but additionally we’re going to ask for $100,000 associated with new property,” he said. “Whether it will be an increase or decrease (in millage), we do not know.”
The current millage is 58.5 mills.
“Usually you don’t ask for an increase if you’re over 55 mills,” Stennis said. “But if there’s monies associated with new properties, you can ask for that.
“The assessed value for new property was $7.5 million last year. The $100,000, we think, is adequate. There are that much taxes associated with that.”
The district’s proposed budget for 2014-15 is about $57 million. It has 800 employees and 4,600 students.
It received approximately $756,000 more in state funds this year over last year under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, but some of that money must be used for the state’s pay raises for teachers. The district has 400 teachers.
The 2014-15 MAEP allocation for the district is $18.6 million. If MAEP were fully funded, the district would have received an additional $2.2 million.
“If we don’t get enough money from the state, but we are under mandates to do certain things (by the state) — if we continue to see underfunding, the district will see cuts in the future,” Stennis said.
When asked by board members what state mandates were causing budget harm to the district, Superintendent James Bacchus mentioned the new law taking effect next school year that requires all students to be reading proficiently by the third grade or be held back.
Bacchus said the district is hiring six new teachers and six teacher assistants — one each for the six elementary schools — to help students with their reading skills.
“We’re going to create a class for students in first and second grade that need additional support, and we will hire teachers to work with those students — 15 (students) per grade per school,” he said.
Bacchus said this year’s budget appeared to be in much better shape than in previous years.
“The increase in state funds helped, and last year, we tightened up, so funding is better,” he said.
Stennis said the budget looked to be one that would get the district through the economic circumstances it faces.
“We feel we have a really good budget here,” he said. “If we can live within these particular means, the district will be fine.”