Finance Committee sends FY 2017 budget to Dougherty County School Board
The committee recommends $209,968,844 million tentative budget to the full School Board
Dougherty County School System Superintendent Ken Dyer and School Board Chairwoman Velvet Edwards-Poole are shown prior to a meeting of the DCSS Board of Education on Wednesday. (Staff Photo: Terry Lewis)
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY — The Dougherty County School Board finance committee on Tuesday approved moving a tentative $209,968,844 million Fiscal Year 2017 budget to the full School Board for review.
The budget projects a decrease in local tax revenue of $407,085, or 1.1 percent, from the 2015 county tax digest, but school system CFO Ken Dyer said the system will not request raising the millage rate from the current level of 18.445 mills. That rate has been in place since 2008.
He added that equalization funds decreased by $238,834, but state QBE funding had increased by $624,117.
“Overall, this is a budget we can live with. We will only have to take $864,885 out of the general fund to offset the revenue shortfall. And that’s not too bad,” Dyer said.
The tentative budget also benefits from a nearly $3 million reduction in state austerity cuts, from $4.3 million in 2016 to $1.4 in 2016-17, resulting in an increase of $624,117 in state QBE funds.
“I’d like to thank the governor and the state Legislature for including that extra money for education in the state budget,” Dyer said.
Dyer said the system will absorb most of the increase in employee heath insurance costs that are scheduled to take effect in January of next year.
“The State Health Insurance rate will increase in FY 2017 for our classified staff. Currently, that rate is $746.20 per member per month, but will increase to $846.20 in January,” Dyer said. “The rate for certified staff will remain the same at $945 per member per month. The total increase to the General Fund Budget is estimated to be $930,000.”
As far as salaries go, the tentative budget includes STEP increases for eligible certified personnel on the teacher pay scale, mid-year supplements for certified non-administrators, and a 3 percent salary increase for bus drivers and school-based child nutrition services employees.
The committee also approved a budget calendar by which it will meet the state’s June 30 budget approval deadline:
— June 13, approval of tentative budget;
— June 14, advertisement of tentative budget;
— June 16-21, meetings with individual board members;
— June 16, 6 p.m. public budget hearing;
— June 21, noon public budget hearing;
— June 29, adoption of FY 2017 budget.
In a side note, the School Board Buildings and Grounds Committee will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the school system’s administration building to discuss projects which will be included in a SPLOST referendum on November’s ballot.
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