The Brookhaven School District will take out a three-year loan to make up for a shortfall in ad valorem tax collections for the 2014-2015 school year.

The school board on Tuesday adopted a resolution declaring a shortfall in ad valorem tax collections. The resolution will allow for a three-year loan making up the difference between what the district collected and what it requested in taxes. BSD Superintendent Ben Cox said last year their collections were short of what they requested by about $212,000. They chose to let that money go. This year they were short another $255,000. Cox said without the loan, they would dig into their fund balance. He said they would have to request a raise in the millage rate in future if the pattern continued.

Currently, BSD has a similar loan that is set to expire at the end of this month. Cox expects the new shortfall loan to be the same or less as the current loan.

In other board business:

• The board also approved the $29 million budget that was presented on June 17. The highlights of the budget include an additional $445,000 in funding from MAEP which was used for pay raises for teachers and support staff. The superintendent did not receive a raise.

• The board approved a donation of $3,541.40 from the cheerleader booster club to be used for camp clothes.

• The board approved a donation from the Brookhaven Elementary School PTA in the amount of $2,000 to purchase three picnic tables to be used in a new outdoor classroom.

• The board approved the BES PTA’s request for the 2015-2016 school year fundraisers, which include Family Fun Night, T-shirt sales for theme football games, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital Math-A-Thon, dog food/supplies collections for Brookhaven Animal Rescue League, collect donations and sell candy canes to raise money for postage for Operation Christmas Child, sponsor the American Heart Association Jump-A-Thon, collect change for Heifer International and to have the third annual BES Carnival.

• The board approved the bid from Fair River Hunting Club for 16th Section land that was $6,353.40. The hunting club was the only bid submission and was $2,000 more than the last lease.

• The board tabled the discussion for the adoption of a new policy for a public records request fee pending further investigation. The new policy would apply to electronic files. Currently, the school has a policy for printed files that is 25 cents per page after the first three pages.