School board approves budget with increased tax request

NATCHEZ — The Natchez Adams School District on Tuesday approved its Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget with a request for a 1 percent increase, or approximately $138,000, in ad valorem tax contributions.

The district is now operating with a budget of $80,393,790, which is inflated by Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief money allocated by the federal CARES Act which can only be expended according to strict federal guidelines. Of the total budget, 16 percent or $14,246,155 is obtained through ad valorem taxes. Next fiscal year’s budgeted revenue is expected to increase to $88,594,329. Of that amount, 16 percent or $14,384,162 is proposed to be financed through ad valorem taxes, which may result in an increase in the ad valorem tax millage rate.

Ad valorem taxes are paid by county residents for their homes, automobile tags, business fixtures and equipment and rental properties.

The millage rate is adopted by the Adams County Supervisors and the school district is legally allowed to request up to a 7 percent increase in finances from the prior year.

A public hearing on the budget was held on Tuesday, June 25.

The school district claims to have avoided requesting an increase in taxes since 2021, but said that in 2022 the district received approximately $340,000 less from the county than the requested tax levy of $14,237,156 due to an accounting error that the county made.

Therefore, when the district requested $14,246,155 for 2023, taxes increased.

ESSER Funding was earmarked in three phases.

The district received and expended all of $2,449,411 from ESSER I and received and expended all of $10,162,066 from ESSER II.

The school district has until a Sept. 30 deadline to obligate $12 million remaining from the $22,348,664 included in ESSER III funds or risk missing out on the federal funding.

Their priorities for the remaining funds are HVAC and restroom renovations at Morgantown and Gilmer McLaurin and Susie B. West elementary schools for $4.5 million; renovation of the Steckler multi-purpose building for a fine arts school for $6.7 million; replacing all exterior doors at the elementary schools and equip each of the schools with access controls, safety; and security improvements for $800,000 with supporting grant funds.

Used ESSER funds were expended on HVAC, restroom and health and safety improvements at each of the remaining schools. Early spending used to mitigate COVID-19 spread included air purification systems, desk guards and clips to ensure safe distancing among students in classrooms and cafeterias, disposable face masks, backpack sprayers to deep clean classrooms and offices, and bottled water for students after water fountains were disabled and later updated with water bottle fillers. The district also funded COVID-19 staffing needs including an additional school nurse and two technology coaches to support teachers with providing digital instruction. Social workers have also been deployed to schools to address students’ emotional needs on top of their academic needs.

Funds were also used to provide professional development for teachers and administrators, to purchase new curriculum and instructional resources to target accelerating learning for students and to provide an after-school tutoring program to reduce COVID-19-related learning loss and provide social services for students.

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