Meridian schools continue budget discussion

Published 7:15 pm Monday, July 20, 2020

The Meridian Public School District discussed and propsed a $62.45 million budget during a public hearing Monday evening, for the 2020-2021 school year.

The budget is a $1.07 million decrease from the 2019-2020 budget of $63.52 million.

Chief Financial Officer Carolyn Davis told the school board Monday that the district saw a projected decrease in student enrollment from 5,905 students in 2015 to 5,143 this year.

The budget includes funds from local, state and federal sources as well as 16th section revenue.

Concerning local revenues, which include property taxes, the district expects to see $133,958 less than last year. The district is still waiting to find out what the MAEP (Mississippi Adequate Education Program) revenue from the governor’s office will be.

State revenue is expected to decrease by $488,732, while federal money is expected to be $432,194 less than last year.

The 16th section revenue is expected to remain stable in the proposed budget.

Expenditures, which include instruction, student support, food services and transportation, are expected to be about $67.7 million. Davis said there was a decrease in instruction expenses from $33,250,888 in 2019-2020 to $31,994,614 because of the new curriculum the district adopted.

Davis said the current budget anticipate the need for personnel reductions. Davis said once final enrollment numbers are received, changes could be made. The board is expected to approve the budget later in the month. 

In other business, the district provided an update on its reopening plans.

Superintendent Amy Carter said parents are asked to complete the online registration to enroll their children in school. Parents who choose an online option for their children, still have to register online, Carter said.

Registration began on July 9.

The information from the registration process will determine if the first day of class will be traditional or if all students will have a class online, Carter said.

Parents can access the online registration information on the MPSD website at www.mpsdk12.net. The process should take around 30 minutes to complete.

Those with questions can call 601-484-4214 between between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday-Friday.