County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo is recommending a one-mill raise in the tax rate and that all district staff take four furlough days in order to balance the budget.
"The proposed 2010-11 tentative budget reflects one of the most financially challenging budget years that the school district has ever had to cope with," Petruzielo said in a memo released with the budget, which is down from the current budget originally set at $628.4 million.
The school board tabled voting on the budget until July 28 at its meeting on Thursday night. While the budget year begins on July 1, a spending resolution was adopted, as is routine, to bridge the month-long gap.
Petruzielo is recommending the board raise the millage rate from 18.85 mills to 19.85 mills, which would bring in an additional $6.8 million to the district.
The recommended increase is the first for the school district in more than a decade.
Under the current budget, a homeowner with a house valued at $200,000 with the standard $5,000 exemption pays $1,414 in school taxes.
If the new millage rate goes into effect, the homeowner would pay $1,449 in school taxes.
The tax rate even with the proposed hike still is considered "revenue neutral" because of declining property values, which means no public hearings on the increase will be conducted.
"Most will pay less in taxes due to assessment (or) valuation decreases, even though rate is increasing," Mike McGowan, district director of public information, communications and partnerships, said of the rate increase's impact on property owners.
The four furlough days that district staff, including the superintendent, will take are Oct. 11 and March 17, both regular school days; and July 26 and March 18, both staff development days. The furloughs equal to $1 million in salary reductions.
While employees will lose pay due to furloughs, Petruzielo is recommending funding of salary step increases in July for all eligible 12-month employees and for in August for 10- and 11-month eligible employees.
The budget includes $347 million for the general fund, which pays for day-to-day operations; $171 million for construction costs; $79 million for debt repayment; $15 million for grant projects; $16 million for school food services and $2 million in other costs.
The school district's reserves are proposed at $37.6 million, down from last year's $41.7 million.
The SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) budget is set at $64.4 million for the upcoming year. It will fund land acquisition, construction of new elementary schools on Univeter Road, Hunt Road and in Ball Ground school and construction of replacement schools for Teasley Middle and E.T. Booth Middle schools.
The funding of the new schools is needed, officials said, as the district is projecting its overall student population to increase by 653 students when classes resume in August.
The budget also calls for $8.7 million in reductions in operations and programs such as staff development for technology, maintenance and purchasing contract costs; assessment costs; special education; safety and security; athletic and sports programs; transportation department operations; and special education operations.
Staffing cuts also are part of the proposed budget, but all of the positions being eliminated are vacant as a result of teachers and other staff members announcing retirement.
The cuts include 32.5 teachers; nine-and-a-half elementary art, music and physical education teachers; seven teachers on special assignment; six graduation coaches from the county high schools; five-and-a-half school counselors; two instructional technology specialists; and one district supervisor of special education.
Other cuts include five and a half school nurses, two technology specialists, 40 paraprofessionals, 31.5 clerical positions, 5.6 custodians, one maintenance technician, three warehouse employees and 23 transportation department employees.
The district will be able to reduce the teaching positions by 32.5 by increasing class sizes by one to two students.
Other budget cuts include reducing work calendar days for support staff such as paraprofessionals, hearing impaired interpreters and in-school suspension clerks from 182 to 180 days; and bus drivers and attendance from 182 to 181 days.
Just remember that tax increases don't exactly disappear easily. For all the bloviating about "long term planning" (which is good), there isn't must thought into what will happen when valuations increase again! In the longer term, you will have a significant tax increase with no public hearing.