In a special meeting this morning, the Fannin County Board of Education passed its tentative budget for FY13. The move comes after the board passed two spending resolutions for July and August, which were based on last year’s budget. Superintendent Mark Henson said the board received the final numbers of the tax digest the day before yesterday, giving the board the go-ahead to approve its tentative budget today.

According to the budget, the district shows a deficit of $1,238,397. Total expected revenues for FY13 are $28,082,216, while total expected expenditures are $29,320,613.

“We’re going to bleed red this year,”

Henson said, saying the true deficit is $1.7 million, explaining that during the August 7th meeting the board will move a surplus of $500,000 from the construction fund to the general fund. Cost increases also contribute to the $1.7 million deficit, Henson said.

In FY12, the board eliminated 14 positions, including two bus drivers, two secretaries, and one school nutrition worker. The remaining positions were teaching or support staff positions. These positions, Henson noted, were eliminated either through attrition or reductions in forces approved by the board. As such, Henson said if these cuts had not been made, the deficit would have been $3.2 million. In fact, considering rumors of a reduction in the tax digest by 20 percent, cuts in funding, and mandated health increases, he estimated a $5 million deficit.

Speaking on the mandated health increases, Finance Director Susan Jackson explained that the board is required to pay a $150 increase per person, per month, in addition to absorbing the cost of a change in the billing process, from percent billing to per-person-per-month billing. She noted the change was supposed to be budget neutral, but said the change did result in an additional cost. She also explained that based on communication from the state health department the board anticipates a 10 percent increase in the employee portion of health insurance rates.

“This affects this budget,”

she said,

“because the board pays the single portion on our employees.”

The board also is required to pay an increase for the single portion of employee contribution for retirement plans. Additionally, the board is still charged with paying step raises. In the face of all this, Henson said,

“The board has done a good job.”

Henson noted the board has prepared for its current financial situation for a few years now.

“Last year,”

he said,

“we ran a $2.1 million deficit; we had been told that there could be a 15 to 20 percent reduction in the (tax) digest coming into this year,”

facts forcing the board to be fiscally conservative. In a conversation with FYN this morning, Chief Appraiser Lorrie Galloway said technically the FY13 digest for the county experienced a one percent growth. However, when exemptions are factored in, the digest dropped .69 percent. Similarly, the FY13 BOE tax digest dropped .70 percent, less than a full percent. Fannin County does not have school tax exemptions for seniors, which may contribute to the slight decrease in the digest.

Later in the meeting, the board approved a tentative millage rate of 12.900, the same rate as last year with a rollback rate of 12.991. In addition to retaining the same millage rate, through the above stated cuts and measures, the board also retained a 180-day instructional calendar.

“The good news,”

Henson said,

“is it looks like we can survive the year with the employees and programs that we have right now in place,”

while commending the board for its fiscal responsibility.

The tentative budget will be advertised (see below) and then voted on August 7th at 5:00 P.M. The workshop will begin at 4:00 P.M. At 6:00 P.M. this same evening, the Board of Commissioners will hold a meeting to approve the county millage rate.

FY13 Tentative Budget for the Board of Education