Video: Columbus Schools Budget May Give Taxpayers a Break

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — Columbus taxpayers could get a break from next year’s school budget.
The district’s proposed budget seeks $172,637 less in local property tax revenues than it did last year. That’s almost a mill on the district’s tax rate, but it will be up to the City Council to ultimately decide how to handle the funding change.
Lower debt payments reduce the need for local dollars, according to the district’s staff who presented the budget to the school board Thursday.
The district’s overall revenue is up $506,103 over last year — $43,189,267 from $42,683,164 — mainly from extra state money for teacher pay raises. State revenues increased from $20,174,536 to $21,104,121.
The total $44,239,138 expenditure budget exceeds revenues but district staff said the difference is primarily technical bookkeeping issues and not dipping into the district’s reserve funds.
A public hearing on the budget is set July 11.
The school board also received a policy that would change the way Columbus High decides its valedictorian and salutatorian.
Tougher courses may count for more when it comes to determining the top graduates.
The new policy would use a weighted quality point average to determine the valedictorian and salutatorian. That would mean students who take advanced placement, dual credit and other advanced course would get extra points in the final rankings.
To be considered for the top spots, students also must be enrolled at Columbus high in their freshman year and remain at the school through their senior year.
And finally, the board split over hiring Terri Walls as districtwide literacy coach at a salary of $56,102 a year.
Board member Greg Lewis asked the position be pulled out of the personnel hires on the consent agenda because he thought the new superintendent should hire districtwide positions. Board President Angela Verdell and member Currie Fisher agreed, over the objections of interim superintendent Edna McGill.
McGil said the board had approved the position earlier this year and a committee and given Walls the highest marks from seven applicants. She said the new hire needed to get started to meet some mandates required by law by August.
Trustees Jason Spears and Glenn Lautzenhiser voted for the hire. Their effort to have specific remarks by Lewis, Fisher and McGill added verbatim o the minutes also failed.
The new school superintendent likely won’t be hired until July 2 and wouldn’t start for several days, if not weeks, later.