The Simpson County Board of Supervisors held their public hearing on a tax revenue increase, a tax levy rate decrease, and the proposed budget and tax levies for the upcoming fiscal year. on Sept. 12. The decision included not funding the 4 percent increase requested by the school district.
Many members of the community attended the hearing. Attendees were allotted time to speak and ask questions pertaining to the budget.
Of four school board members present, Stan Bulger was first to comment. He first addressed the facility needs of the public school system since closing Mendenhall Junior High School campus and integrating these students into Mendenhall Elementary and Mendenhall High schools. He stated that the school board is obligated to provide a facility for these students, but the estimated cost of a new junior high is 24 million dollars. Bulger discussed the district’s need to reduce their footprint and maintain fewer buildings.
Attorney Austin Stewart with Adams and Reese was present on behalf of the school board and reminded the Board of Supervisors of the school district’s legal position. Stewart said statutes state that the tax levy authority must determine the millage needed to fund the school district budget if it meets the requirements. Stewart said the millage must be less than 55 mills and no more than a 4 percent increase.
Stewart also highlighted the change in the funding formula that was adopted by the state legislature that set the local contribution, and that a 4 percent increase was within the law.
School Board member Danny Cowart said the state House voted unanimously for the new formula, and three senators voted against it. Cowart said Simpson County’s representative and senator voted for it and that the school board was left with no choice but to follow the guidelines from the legislature and request a 4 percent budget increase.
Cowart said national inflation is at 19.7 percent so the school district would have to have the 4 percent increase to cover cost increases in all areas. He emphasized that a 3.876 mill increase was advertised, which is four and a half times more than the school board is asking for as operating expenses.
He said, “We had no choice on the matter. Energy is up 32 percent due to inflation but your inflation factor is 19.7 percent across the nation. So the 4 percent was a given, despite the debt this (school board) is trying to go into to replace Mendenhall Junior High. There was no choice on the 4 percent increase on the operating budget.”
Cowart said two big non-negotiable items impacted the school budget, a hike in insurance rates and PERS (the state retirement system). The PERS issue was mediated somewhat when the increase was set in increments of a half percent, he explained.
He said, “That made it so we can operate. If not, all of that money would have been practically eaten up on paying for PERS alone. So we were put in the same position as you all. I have confidence in the five men sitting here that the 3 mill increase is probably due to those inflationary things like infrastructure that you have to pay for— fuel, the price of labor. I am sure you all are not trying to do something that is not absolutely necessary, and neither is this board.”
Cowart said the school district’s Director of Finance Sheila Copeland informed the school board that it may approve or reject what the Mississippi Legislature formula said that Simpson County should do in terms of the school district’s budget.
Cowart said, “Within 30 minutes of having to make a decision, Mrs. Copeland, the CFO, said ‘this is sent to you not as a request, but you have to approve this or you may reject it.’ Which put us in a 30 minute decision. The Mississippi Legislature says this is what the formula says Simpson County should do. To reject it to me would have been illogical because the legislature said this is what this county needs for the public school system. So we were put in a pretty time sensitive situation. “
Cowart said he asked the paper to print the facts so the public can be aware, and he believes that did not happen.
Cowart said, “Transparency is something that we need, and I guarantee you the Board of Supervisors is faced with some difficult decisions, and this board is faced with the same type of decisions.”
He then spoke about unfunded mandates, binding rulings passed by the state legislators which they expect districts to fulfill but which the state does not fund.
“The unfunded mandate— we had no idea a PERS (increase) was coming. Years ago, they decided there would be a 25 year retirement. Kicking the can down the road has hit now, with these two boards to make the decision on operating what they’re charged and elected to operate. We really were sitting there with ‘what are you going to do?’ Just like you. And 20 percent inflation is real and a problem.”
District 4 Supervisor Donny Welch commented on the unfunded mandate and said it is passed down from the state all the way to the taxpayers of the county. Welch said many people believe the state legislature is sending money to the county.
Welch said, “They didn’t send us a dime. They made a decision on passing this down to the taxpayers of the county to increase their taxes on a decision they made while not funding anything.”
Supervisor Danny Craft said state authorities never get with these counties and ask how will this affect the people that live there and that can be frustrating.
Supervisor Wayne Womack asked about the absenteeism rate in the public school system and why truancy officers are not enforcing attendance, which is linked to state funds for education. Bulger explained that there is a vacancy for a truancy officer in Simpson County. He also explained that these officers do not report to the school district, but instead to the Mississippi Department of Education. Bulger said absenteeism has increased across the state and country after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bulger said, “Statistically we are not alone in this, but until you have a person reporting to you that is supposed to be enforcing it, you know as well as I do that it is pretty hard to get results from the legal side of things.”
Womack said not having kids in school affects their ability to learn, which trickles down to the rest of the community. He said it has an impact on the workforce, crime and economic development. He said it also affects the cost of operation, such as having to operate a 70 passenger bus with only 15 kids on it.
Danny Craft transitioned to the MS Hub settlement and said the Board of Supervisors battled hard in the case and settled with a valuation of the property at $240 million dollars.
“I think we did a hell of a job negotiating. We fought hard and spent many restless days and nights. A lot of people don’t know about the salt dome— it is the biggest contributor to your tax base. The only outlook is we were basically told is this is it. Yeah, we would win locally, but the Supreme Court will go with oil companies every time.”
Craft said the county will see returns in 2028 when two new caverns are opened. Welch said that was a part of the settlement agreement, which he said was doing away with 11.2 million in back taxes to pay MS Hub, and a decrease in assessed value with a 200 million expansion in 2027-2028 which will take the tax base back up.
Craft then asked what the two previous increases received by the school district were used for.
Cowart said, “We need to stop and be collaborative. We’re in this together. I’ve watched what you’re talking about. Every time the board meeting comes up, when it got to the millage I said, whoa, stop. Wherever that millage was is where we made decisions from. With 4 percent, we built a jail with a lease purchase. We did exactly the same thing with the school.”
Cowart echoed what Bulger said in the beginning, stating that the school board had no choice other than to remove students from that environment (the Mendenhall Jr. High campus). Cowart said the district will save at least a half million dollars on operating cost operating one high school.
Bulger listed what the school board has done to save money. He said the district office has combined six positions into three along with some other changes to save a half million dollars.
Bulger said, “We have shrunk our district office, we continue to shrink in student population, and we can document that. We are trying to save every way we can. We still have new buses to buy, we have buildings to build, and we’ve got 61 pieces of property around this county that we are trying to keep up. It is too much. We need one third less than that, so it costs money to downsize.”
Following the public hearing the board of Supervisors moved to adopt their proposed budget for 2025, which did not include the 4 percent increase requested by the school district. The board set the tax levy for the Simpson County School District maintenance at 44.95 mills, SCSD 3 Mill note at 2.966 mills, and the SCSD School Shortfall Note at 0.07 mills for a total of 47.986 mills. A mill for the school district is valued at approximately $246,584. The value of a mill changes every year based on the assessed value of property in the county. The value of a mill was recently decreased following the MS Hub settlement but is expected to increase once the new caverns become operational.
