At the first of two public hearings held last Thursday, July 22, to discuss the millage rate increase for Haralson County School System, Board Chair Richard Davis and Director of Financial Services Esther Parris heard from community members about the proposed increase in property taxes.

Davis said that since the board announced that it would not have to raise the millage rate three weeks ago, new information from the state has come to light.

“At the end of June, we adopted the digest with a $66,000 decrease, and it was left with no millage increase proposed,” Davis said. “Later that afternoon, the commissioner’s office said that the digest is wrong since the auto tags took such a big hit.”

The board now has to account for a loss of $275,000 due to an increase in employee insurance and retirement rates. To cover this amount, the board is proposing raising the millage rate half a mill to garner around $295,000 in tax revenue.

Before hearing from the public, Davis went over the budget cuts the board implemented before deciding to raise the millage rate.

“We started in January, and we looked at other school systems to see how they were handling their budgets. That’s where we came up with the four-day school week calendar, and that’s to cut operating and administrative costs during that day,” he said.

Davis said that the four-day school week should amount to more than $367,000 in projected savings. The board also eliminated two assistant principal positions so that the two primary schools and the two elementary schools will now share one assistant principal per two schools. The board eliminated four art and music teachers for the lower grades, leaving only one to service those students. Further staff cuts saw the loss of the graduation coach, two media paraprofessionals, all but one secretary and bookkeeper per school, a bus mechanic and a pre-kindergarten resource coordinator.

Davis said the board also eliminated the use of substitute teachers in the system entirely. Now full-time teachers will serve as substitutes during their planning periods to fill in for absent teachers. The board will also purchase used textbooks instead of new books to cut costs and cut two days of cleaning services for all of the schools. The total projected savings the board made through budget cuts for the 2011 fiscal year amounted to $2,892,270.58.

Mr. Kenneth Williams told the two administrators that he would like to see all administrators in the system with higher pay lose as much money as the lower paid employees.

“I don’t see where you all addressed cutting from the top – starting with the superintendent’s pay,” Williams said. “You could keep the same percentage across the board, starting from the top.”

Williams also recommended that the board consider charging out-of-state students the same amount of tax as students from Georgia. Williams said he disagreed with the practice of free education for the children of teachers from out-of-state because they don’t pay the taxes to support the system. He also said that the costs to operate school buses is a major concern and the board should consider re-evaluating routes.

“It’s a shame the other board members couldn’t be here,” Williams said.

Mr. James L. Hughes then asked Davis what had become of the state-mandated budget reserve that the board had requested payment for the last time the millage rate was increased.

Davis explained that the state recommends that school systems keep 10 percent of their budgets in reserve in the event of financial emergency, but at this time, the Haralson County School System has no reserve. The 2008 fiscal year ended with a negative balance of $477,000.

“Since then, we brought it back to positive, about $200,000. This year we’re hoping to close with a fund balance of $300,000.” Davis said.

Davis told Hughes that there is no way for the system to get back to where it was without placing the full burden on taxpayers. He informed those in attendance that both Rome City and Douglas County Schools are raising their mill rate to pay for expenses and that he saw no other option unless the board cut school nurses, art and music programs in the primary and elementary schools and sports programs in the middle and high school.

Hughes countered Davis with a reminder that the school system is not the only sufferer with financial woes.

“We’re sure in a bind. They keep telling seniors we are having to bite the bullet, but we already bit it. If you look at unemployment and foreclosures in Georgia, it’s just a bad time to raise the millage.”

Hughes returned to the idea that the board should consider cutting the salary of the superintendent and other administrative employees. He questioned why the board had to look outside the county to fill the position and why, after talking to the superintendent of Polk County Schools, he said he found that Superintendent Stanton was paid substantially more.

“We can’t cut the salary schedule, we can only cut days,” Davis told him. “I wasn’t here during the [superintendent] interview process, so I can’t tell you about that.”

Later, however, Davis did say that the board does contract the superintendent’s salary. The board will finalize the millage rate and budget at its next meeting tonight at 6 p.m.