The Simpson County School District’s public hearing to discuss the budget for the upcoming school year was also the district’s opportunity to present its 2024-2025 educational plan “expressed in dollars and cents,” according to Finance Director Sheila Copeland.
Copeland explained the various sources of revenue that compose the district’s budget by breaking them down into four categories: local, state, federal, and 16th Section.
Local revenue was defined as ad valorem taxes, interest earned from banks, food sales in the cafeteria, and athletic event ticket sales. State revenue encompassed revenue from the new Mississippi Student Funding Formula, Homestead Exemption reimbursement, and Education Enhancement revenues. Federal revenues are received from title grants, food service reimbursements, and federal special education grants. Sixteenth Section revenues consist of payments from leaseholders and timber sales.
Copeland said that state revenue makes up approximately 47 percent of the district’s revenue followed by local revenues at 32 percent. Federal revenue was presented as 19 percent and 16th section proceeds at 1.2 percent.
Fiscal year 2025 ad valorem is budgeted as $13,408,711.95 for operations and $726,298.80 for debt service.
Copeland said single family and other real property along with personal property will be taxed at an assessed valuation rate of 15 percent while public service property and motor vehicles will have an assessed valuation rate of 30 percent for ad valorem.
She explained that there was a 1.25 percent increase in the assessed valuation amount from fiscal year 2022 at 284,973,596 to fiscal year 2023 at 288,571,299. Millage rates for 2023 were 44.61 for operations and 2.5 for debt service for a total of 47.11 mills.
The change in the state funding calculations will significantly impact how public schools are funded. Copeland and the board discussed the pros and cons of the new system and what it means for Simpson County Schools. Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) is being replaced by the Mississippi Student Funding Formula (MSFF). MSFF will utilize net enrollment as a determining factor for funding rather than average daily attendance, which was used under MAEP.
All grade levels will be included in the calculations to help determine the base student calculation cost. Changes in enrollment will have a direct impact on MSFF, and the Mississippi Department of Education will continue to use the average of October and November, historically the months of lowest attendance because of the onset of cold and flu season, for the district’s average daily attendance for 2025.
MSFF will be used to calculate funding for fiscal year 2025, and Copeland reported that the full funding dollar amount for 2025 will be $20,080,458.05 compared to 2024 at $19,775362.
The final allocation for 2024 was $17,736,834 compared to 2025 at $20,220,556.05. The fiscal year 2025 figure includes teacher pay raises, increases in Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) rates, and increase in insurance. The difference between the two years’ final allocation figures is an approximate 2.5 million dollar increase for 2025.
Copeland explained that the net increase is not as much as expected. She explained that $1.6 million dollars of the increase has gone to teacher pay raises, with much of the rest being allocated to PERS and insurance, leaving the district with only $140,098 in net gain.
Furthermore, Senate Bill 3231 will increase the PERS employer contribution rate by 2.5 percent over the next five years beginning with a 0.5 percent increase on July 1 with a half percent increase each year until the rate increases 2.5 percent.
Board Secretary Danny Cowart said if the half percent increase in PERS debt is not accounted for it could become a negative moving forward.
Board member Stan Bulger described the process as a sleight-of- hand. He said the legislature is pushing a little money down, but the local economy will have to pick up the increase in PERS. Bulger said the new money coming form the legislature will count against the millage and put more of a burden on local citizens to fund education.
Base student cost for fiscal year 2025 is $6,695.34, down $63.93 from 2024.
Copeland presented a pie chart depicting expenditures by function, and instruction expenditures, defined as salaries and benefits of teachers and teacher assistants, supplies and materials, accounted for 54 percent of the district’s expenditures. Instruction is the largest percentage category of any school district budget.
Other expenditures were broken down into support services 35.31 percent, non-instructional 5.74 percent, facilities acquisition and construction 2.28 percent, debt services 1.29 percent, and 16th Section 0.43 percent.
Copeland showed the per pupil expenditures for 2,906.81 students as $14,289.56 per pupil.
She also said that state law provides a formula to determine the reasonableness of administrative salary expenditures in code section 37-61-9(4). Copeland said the administrative cost may not exceed $150,000 plus 4 percent of the total expenditures of the school district for any one fiscal year. The code section defines “administration costs” as expenditures for salaries and fringe benefits paid for central administration costs.
Copeland said according to the current formula a maximum of $1,737,292.79 can be spent on administrative cost by Simpson County School District for such items as salaries and expenditures for district office employees, superintendent, and the board of education. The fiscal year 2025 budgeted amount for administrative cost is $1,663,946.65 which is $73,346.14 below the allowed limit, according to Copeland. board of education.
The estimated general fund balance on June 30, 2024, is $15,187,478. Debt balances as of June 30 include QSCB Bonds of $200,000 and a 3-mil note for $8,302,000.
Copeland spoke briefly about ESSER funds coming to an end. She explained that these funds have to be allocated by September 30, and $2 million has been earmarked to build a new consolidated high school.
Cowart commented on the efficiency of running one high school rather than two and how it would easily save the district a quarter of a million dollars each year, though he believes the saving will be much more. He said students would be able to get “the best of the best in regard to teachers, facilities, and programs.”
The loss of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds being given to public schools since COVID has led to a reduction in force. ESSER- funded positions such as nurses and consultants have been dissolved and these duties have been rearranged and adjusted to match the student base.
Copeland closed by saying the district will continue to explore ways to be more efficient, promote educational goals, and retain highly qualified and capable staff. She said the district is exploring ways to upgrade facilities to ensure that the learning environments remain safe for students and staff. She asked for the continued support of the citizens of Simpson County to ensure the district continues to strive.
Bulger said, “We have a fiduciary responsibility as a board to make sure that the facilities in our district are safe and conducive to learning.”
He added that with the shrinking population of students there is a need to decrease the 61 buildings the district maintains. This number needs to be reduced in order to save on maintenance costs, according to Bulger. He said the previous practice of the district was equal provision — if Magee received a new building, then Mendenhall would get a new building and vice versa. The buildings were built whether the opposite school needed it or not. He said there is a need to consolidate so students can get the best value of the district’s resources.
Board member Lillie Hardy said, “We as a board have to stay focused because we can easily lose our effectiveness in this community. We don’t need to just get caught up in these figures. We need to focus, plan, and replan.”
She continued, “We have been focused on pleasing the adults instead of educating the students. We’re here to uplift the community by educating the populus, and the populus is these students, not the adults.
Following the presentation the hearing was opened for questions and remarks. Ray Floyd spoke to the reduction in student population that was mentioned by board members. He asked why attendance was going down and questioned the reason for $2 million in debt service on a high school.
It was his opinion that more children are leaving the school system and attending schools such as Genesis I, homeschool, and Simpson Academy. Floyd said “school choice” has been a hot topic for a while and if it is passed, he believes even more students will be leaving the district.
Floyd said, “Then what are we going to do with the new school debt? Working folks don’t have extra to go around and everyone is going to suffer from this.”
Floyd urged the board members to “think about the little guys” when making their decisions.
The hearing was adjourned. The operating budget is scheduled to be adopted on Thursday June 27.
