OSD Approved 2020 Budget Without Raising School Taxes

By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Oxford homeowners won’t see a rise in their millage rate for school taxes this coming fiscal year which runs from July 1 to June 30.

The Oxford School District’s $49 million budget was approved by the OSD Board of Trustees Monday night.

The current millage is 62.54. Last year the Board of Trustees approved raising the millage rate from 58.67 to 62.54 where it will remain the same throughout the next fiscal year.

The projected revenues for fiscal year 2019-2020 are $62,068374, with $21,836,384 coming from the state, $36,220,120 from local sources and $4,011,869 from federal sources.

The largest share of federal funds are used for school lunches at a cost of $1.3 million with an additional $90,000 for the summer meal program. About $1 million in federal funds are for special education and $863,475 for the Title I program.

Most of the local funds, about $28 million, come from ad valorem taxes with an additional $6.4 million from ad valorem-debt service, which goes toward bond repayment only.

The OSD is expected to receive about $19 million from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, or MAEP.

The largest expense, $25.3 million, is for teacher salaries. About $3.6 million goes toward instructional support services and $2.3 on school administration salaries.

Other projected expenses include $1.3 million for utilities; $531,000 for property and liability insurance; $1.5 million in general supplies and software; $390,000 for books and periodicals; $1.1 million for furniture and equipment; $694,823 on vehicles and buses and $2.3 million on debt service.

The Lafayette School District also held their proposed budget meeting for the upcoming school year on Monday.

The total revenue expected is close to $30M, with $11.5 million from local taxes, tuition, donations, fundraisers, et cetera; $15.4 million from the state; and $2.6 million from federal funds.

Like Oxford, 53 percent of the budget is for salaries, supplies and all expenses related to educating children while 33 percent of the expenses are related to support services, like guidance, staff improvement, administration, buildings and grounds and transportation.

Board member Brent Larson questioned whether $300,000 budgeted for new Chromebooks could be saved and used elsewhere.

It was affirmed by fellow board members that the old Chromebooks that were used this past year in high school will be sent down to the middle school and the old computers used in middle school will be passed down.

The explanation had Larson in support of the purchase.

The Board will vote on the proposed budget at its next regular meeting.

Hottytoddy Intern Collin Rivera contributed to this story.