The Jenkins County Board of Education (BOE) will take final action on establishing its millage rate for maintenance and operations 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, in the Board Conference Room. The current millage is 12.900. The BOE is proposing to adopt the rollback millage rate of 12.901, even though the tax digest has decreased such that funding for the school system will be reduced by approximately $100,000.

On June 8, the BOE adopted a zero-based budget for FY 10 that was built on revenue funds totaling $11,265,934 provided by local, state and federal monies. This budget reflects efforts taken to reduce expenditures by approximately $785,000 from the FY 09 budget while providing for the instructional needs of our students; thus, no budget increase.

Jenkins County School Superintendent Melissa Williams states, "As you are aware, there are new budget cuts being pushed down to our local system from the state that will only aggravate an already dire situation. Our system received a 3 percent cut in QBE funding for this present school year totaling approximately $392,000. This was in addition to approximately $200,000 more that was taken by the state for the local fair share and $200,000 more taken for state austerity reductions. Measures are being taken to absorb the cuts without having to go once again to the taxpayers. For example, all school personnel who work more than 180 days are being furloughed for three days without pay; field trips are being limited and class sizes are being pushed to maximum levels in efforts to maximize state funding."

"We are all feeling the pinch as layoffs are rampant, houses are in foreclosure and retirement accounts are shrinking. This is an opportunity for me, on behalf of the BOE, to say 'thank you' for standing with us during these difficult times. We take pride in our schools and recognize that our school system is an avenue that is explored by newcomers before transitioning to this area which will provide community growth that is so needed. Be assured that your tax dollars are being spent only when it impacts students' instructional needs. We are exploring every avenue available to us to preserve our workforce and conserve funds," Williams said.