During a called meeting held June 17 the Jenkins County Board of Education (BOE) adopted a tentative budget for the 2010- 2011 school year with no tax increase to local property owners.

The $10,165,000 budget approved was approximately $2,101,000 less than the previous year’s budget and included $2,695,363 in local taxes.

Jenkins County School Superintendent Melissa Williams called attention to the many cost-reducing actions taken to compensate for the expected $850,000 reduction in state funding. She also noted that the tentative budget reflected an approximate $488,000 deficit. This amount would be reduced, however, once the amount of federal allotments were known and entered into the budget.

“We should break about even,” she said.

The superintendent also noted that she would be taking the same furlough days as school staff, and, therefore, her salary would be reduced for the new school year.

Superintendent Williams remarked that preparation of the 2010- 2011 tentative budget had been challenging due to the fact that the school system has not yet received allotment sheets from the state. She also praised the cooperation of all school staff and support from the community.

The budget will be considered for final adoption by the BOE during a called meeting to be held today (Wednesday).