Despite the Marion County School District requesting a 6.48-mill tax increase to fund its budget, the Marion County Board of Supervisors decided to only advertise for a 0.74-mill increase to fund the district’s shortfall on Friday. The supervisors’ decision funds just 11% of the school district’s request.
The decision, however, is not final and was only a vote to advertise the increase, not enforce it. There will be a public hearing Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ office.
The biggest budget increase request from the school district came from its maintenance budget, which increased $457,355 or 5.60 mills from $4.003 million to $4.461 million.
Prior to making the decision, District 1 Supervisor Blue Green asked Marion County CPA Charlie Prince if it was possible to fund what the school district is asking for without raising taxes by taking it from other areas within the budget. Prince said the county would have to reduce its general fund or road and bridge fund extensively, which didn’t appeal to any of the supervisors.
“If we took 6.48 mills from the general fund — that would be a little over $1 million — you would be $1.5 million into your cash if you did that,” Prince explained. “To me, if you were to reduce your county levy anywhere to offset the increase the school levy, you would have to reduce expenditures in the general fund by that same amount.”
He added that if the county did that, it would eventually have to add those 6.48 mills back into the general fund because it is already tapped out. The only way to reduce the general fund is to reduce county employees, according to Prince. He said he and Chancery Clerk Elisha Moree have already gone through the expenditures of every department, and there really is nowhere to cut.
Green said it doesn’t make sense to raise taxes in Marion County, especially considering there are so many people who can’t afford their taxes already, evidenced by the 22 pages of property taxes in The Columbian-Progress. His hope is that the school district’s administration will experience a shakeup that would potentially reduce the school district’s budget.
“We’re hoping to get us a new school superintendent next year that will have some sense,” Green said. “We got two school board members up for reelection this year, and we’re hoping one more will see the light. That’s our hope. It’s no guarantee, but I know people don’t have their name in the paper just because they want it in the paper.”
Prince then informed the board that he doesn’t see the school district’s budget reducing anytime soon with inflation raising costs across the board. Green countered by saying that the school district under Superintendent Michael Day has shown that it doesn’t understand the limitations of a school district its size. Green said that if the county gave MCSD a million dollars today, it would likely spend $800,000 on the central office and just $200,000 would actually trickle down into the schools.
“No bigger district than we are, he (Day) named an assistant superintendent back when all this was going on. I know because I went to the meeting,” Green explained. “Knowing how money is tight, this small a district isn’t naming an assistant superintendent. If we can get the right man in there that’s got the nerve to do it right, we can decrease. What is up there is so top heavy, it’s pitiful.”
District 4 Supervisor Raymon Rowell then cautioned Green that there’s no guarantee that the school board or the superintendent is going to change anytime soon and delaying the money could come back to bite the county.
Prince then added that the way the law reads, the county is at one point or another going to have to pay for the district’s increased budget.
“The schools are who need to change,” Green added. “Our situation in Marion County is not going to get any better until the school system decides to change on their own. Our young people are leaving because they have to leave. Nobody is coming with the way the school system has got. They either need to work something out or all we’re going to do is shrink, shrink, shrink.”
After the back-and-forth exchange, the supervisors fell silent for nearly 15 minutes as they mulled their options. Seemingly, none of the supervisors wanted to be the one who made the motion to advertise for a tax increase. Prince then restarted the conversation by saying the supervisors were acting like the model of government by being deliberate and considering all their options rather than making a hasty decision. He added that at the minimum, the supervisors had to fund the district’s $63,033 shortfall, which equates to the 0.74 mills they ultimately agreed to advertise for.
District 3 Supervisor Tony Morgan made the motion to advertise for increasing the tax levy by 0.74 mills, which Green seconded. District 2 Supervisor John Moree voted for the advertisement, while Rowell and District 5 Supervisor Calvin Newsome voted against it. Rowell and Newsome believed the county should advertise for a higher tax levy because it likely is going to have to do it eventually.
