School System Millage Rate May Drop Again This Coming Year

Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey says he expects to propose a millage rate decrease in the upcoming budget year.

Dorsey spoke with the Board of Education last Thursday at its work session over the early numbers for the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.

He said that those early numbers support the idea that the millage rate can be lowered.

“I think that we would feel comfortable in recommending to the board that we roll back the millage rate one full mill,” said Dorsey. “I think we have enough room in there to do that and feel confident that shouldn’t change.”

That would take the school system’s millage rate to 18.75 mills.

Dorsey said two different factors give him confidence in the one-mill decrease.

“Looking at our preliminaries, as long as the legislature approves the budget plan we are talking about, we should be slightly up on our state revenues, so we will not see any loss there and having a meeting with the Tax Assessor and Tax Commissioner, it looks like our local taxes will be flat. We do not think we will have an increase or a decrease there.”

Dorsey said he also feels comfortable because of the savings that the school system is seeing this year.

According to current budget numbers for Fiscal Year 2016, the school system is projecting ending the year with about $3 million more in revenues than expenditures.

Dorsey said he feels that number could continue to grow.

“It probably will close out somewhere between $3 million and $5 million,” said Dorsey, who said the re-structuring has saved more than they thought it would.

Early in the process, Dorsey is presenting to the board a tentative total budget number for Fiscal Year 2017 that is $654,706 less than Fiscal Year 2016.

He said the tentative Fiscal Year 2017 budget figure factors in the one-mill decrease, a 180-day calendar, and possibly some increases for staff.

Dorsey said the numbers he is presenting also include projected increases for staff in some areas he called “critical needs.”

That includes additional paraprofessionals, an elementary school art teacher, and additional teachers to meet coming needs at Toccoa Elementary and Stephens County High School.

Dorsey did say that it is still early in the budget process and staff will continue to work on the numbers.