Natchez Adams schools to hold budget hearing 3 p.m. Tuesday

Published 12:01 am Sunday, July 1, 2018

NATCHEZ — The Natchez-Adams School District will host a public hearing Tuesday on its proposed budget for the fiscal year 2019.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the board room of the Braden Administration Building on Homochitto Street.

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NASD Business and Finance Manager Monica Anderson said the school district currently plans to request less money from ad valorem taxes than it did last year.

Last year the school district operated with a projected budget revenue of $39,812,930. Of that amount, $13,754,023 came from ad valorem taxes — taxes that primarily include property taxes and vehicle license tags.

The school district is currently planning a budget of $41,373,988 for the fiscal year 2019. Of that budget, $13,336,052 is proposed to be financed from ad valorem taxes, a drop of nearly $419,000 from last year.

Anderson said the numbers for the budget are preliminary, and she has not received final numbers from the county or state.

Anderson said the proposed increase in total revenue is because she included the fully funded allocation amount from the Mississippi Adequate Education Program — the preliminary number provided by the state. But Anderson cautioned that she hadn’t received final figures from the state.

“The state hasn’t fully funded MAEP in years,” Anderson said. “But I did include the preliminary figure that I received from the state.”

The district also has not received final data on ad valorem taxes from the county.

Adams County Administrator Joe Murray said he would not be able to finalize figures until Adams County Tax Assessor Reynolds Atkins makes his report to the county about possible reassessments of properties. Murray said he expects Reynolds to make his report Monday. After that information is received, Murray said he would be able to provide the school district with more accurate numbers for the upcoming year.

Anderson said the school district would present at Tuesday’s hearing the proposed figures for the upcoming budget using the preliminary numbers.

Anderson said even though the preliminary numbers are subject to change, the school district is not planning to request more from ad valorem taxes than it did last year.

Anderson said she expects to have definite numbers on or before Aug. 15 as required by the state. The school district hopes to have the budget adopted at the July 17 board meeting, Anderson said.