The Webster Parish School Board unanimously adopted a resolution passing 2015’s tax property millage for the next fiscal year.
Finance director Crevonne Odom gave board members a breakdown of what each district’s millage will generate and how each one compared to 2014. Some went down while one increased.
Doyline District 7 went to 23 mill, down from 25 mill in 2014. The Dubberly-Heflin-Sibley Consolidated District 3 went to 4 mill, up from 3 mill in 2014. Odom says the adjustment was to make sure they can generate enough to pay back the bond indebtedness for the year; they are only allowed by law to keep one year’s worth in reserve.
“We can only have enough in our reserves to cover a year,” she said, “so we needed to bring down our mills. They said we were collecting too much of the taxpayers money, and holding it in the reserve account. Depending on any given year, it can go up and down as to how much we’re going to collect. In this case, it went down more than was needed to cover the actual debt, so now we have to go up to get it covered.”
She further explained that it went down too far, and the school board paid the bond indebtedness for the district. So now the millage has to come back up to cover what the board paid.
For Cotton Valley, while 3 mill will only generate $84,000, Odom says there is $610,000 already in the account in reserve.
“We have more than enough to cover a year’s worth of debt,” she said.
Odom says they are expecting just more than $10 million to cover their general obligation debt.
In other news, the board adopted a resolution to get the school board before the state bond commission in October to save District 6 about $200,000 over the life of the current bond indebtedness. Attorney Grant Schleuter told board members the bond indebtedness sunsets, or ends, in 2027.
The board also approved:
– A proposal from Nexus Systems to upgrade Webster Parish School District’s internet access and wide area network for all locations and for additional products and services with significant funding assistance coming through the E-Rate program. The current contract expires June 30, 2016, and must sign a new contract. The board excepted the recommended company Nexus Systems for a five year contract.
– Approve John Gibbs Roof System, Inc. to furnish and install three roof drains at North Webster Jr. High School for $4,436 using the Sarepta Maintenance Fund.
The personnel committee will meet at 5 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19 to discuss Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dan Rawls’ contract. The next board meeting will be at 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 5.
District – Mill: – Generates
Constitutional Tax (parishwide) – 4.08 – $1 million (in excess)
Special Maintenance Tax (parishwide) – 5.94 – $1.5 million (in excess)
Building Maintenance Tax (parishwide) – 2.55 – $644,000 (in excess)
Building Maintenance Tax (parishwide) – 2.82 – $712,000 (in excess)
District 6 (Minden) – 29.0 – $2.3 million
District 7 (Doyline) – 23.0 – $532,000 (in excess)
District 7 Maintenance Tax – 5.49 – $127,000 (in excess)
District 8 (Springhill) – 42.0 – $1.6 million
District 8 Maintenance Tax – 7.09 – $264,000
District 12 (Cotton Valley) – 3.00 – $84,000 ($610,000 in reserves)
District 35 (Sarepta) – 12.00 – $135,000 (in excess)
District 35 Maintenance Tax – 25.00 – $281,000 (in excess)
Consolidated District 1 (Shongaloo) – 3.00 – $99,000 ($821,000 in reserves)
Consolidated District 3 (Sibley) – 4.00 – $160,000 ($314,000 in reserves)
Consolidated District 3 Maintenance – 24.05 – $967,000