School budget's leaner
By Arthur McLean Editor

The Thomasville City School board approved a budget Thursday where spending is expected to outstrip revenue by $391,528.

The budget for the next fiscal year beginning in October sets school spending at $16.89 million and anticipates $16.50 million in total revenues.

When board member Kevin Smoker asked about the "deficit budget" superintendent Vic Adkison and CFO Linda McGhee were quick to point out that it was not a deficit budget, that the school system would simply have to dig deeper into its reserves. "Well, if you spend more than you take in," Smoker said. "It's not a deficit budget, it's a healthy budget, but it's a lean budget," Adkison replied.

Increasing costs, including a pay raise and increased health insurance expenses and a decrease in state funding at some schools based on enrollment have factored into the shrinking budget. The school system is still also short more than $100,000 in tax revenue from the Boise dispute where the company has disputed its tax bills and to date has not paid county assessed taxes for the year.

But McGhee is betting that the school system will see Boise tax revenue this year, and the school system is banking on it with Boise tax funds for next year calculated into the budget. "We are not anticipating a revenue shortfall," she said.

The move was necessary for the school system to maintain one-month's operating cash in reserve on the books as mandated by the state. Without accounting for the Boise money, the school system would not be able to show a month's worth of operating cash on the books. One month of operations currently totals $949,810.

The budget accounts for 1,574 students in the system and 189 employees.

School officials believe they see the light at the end of the tunnel, and project the school system will stop overspending its revenue in the next fiscal year. The school system has been overspending since 2000, when proration was enacted by the state.

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