CORDELE — The Crisp County Board of Education approved a $42.4 million tentative budget for Fiscal Year 2017 during its April 12, 2016 meeting, funding a full 180-day school year.
The new budget includes no furlough days, a 3 percent raise for all full-time employees and also provides for full step pay increases for all eligible employees. The 3% raise will be approved for the Fiscal Year 2017 only and will NOT automatically roll to the next fiscal year because the state funding to help support the raise has only been approved for one year. No money has been added to the state salary schedule. Fiscal Year 2017 begins July 1, 2016 and runs through June 30, 2017.
The FY2017 General Fund Budget includes $33,145,184 in revenue and $33,995,054 in expenditures. The budget is based on a predicted enrollment of 3,995 students. The district’s careful implementation of significant budget reductions over the past years, along with prudent financial management, has left the district in a sound financial position. As a result, the district plans to use $849,870 million in revenue reserve to offset the shortfall in revenue. The Crisp County School System (CCSS) has remained debt free since the last principle and interest payment was made in 1996.
After several years of economic downturn, CCSS is starting to experience a rebound in in our state revenue stream. State of Georgia Quality Basic Education (QBE) revenue provides approximately 69.63% of Crisp’s revenue from predetermined formulas. The revenue related to these formulas is calculated based on the total number of students. Local Property Tax Revenue generates approximately 29.99% of Crisp County’s revenue. The value of property in Crisp County is taxed using a tax rate called millage.
The Board of Education is responsible for setting the millage tax rate each year. The school millage rate has remained at the same mill for the last 5 years, since 2012.
As stewards of taxpayer dollars, we have carefully and responsibly prepared the
FY2017 Budget. This budget reflects our goal to provide teaching and other appropriate educational services. This budget also reflects the mission of the CCSS to graduate competitive college and career ready students. The mandates for improving education services place significant challenges upon the budget to maintain spending controls.
The Budget is a prudent plan that balances the many needs of our students with the economic realities of our county.
The proposed FY17 budget will be made available for public comment and review. The final budget is expected to be presented to the Board for a vote at its May meeting which is currently scheduled for May 10. For additional information on the FY17 budget, please view the CCSS website at www.crispschools.org.