Brookhaven School District officials plan to ask for a littlemore in local funding next year, but the request is not expected torequire a tax increase, school officials said Monday during apublic hearing on the budget.

“We do not foresee a tax increase,” said Financial DirectorSandy Earnest, representing the district along with SuperintendentDr. Sam Bounds and school board members Amy Valentine and GwedolynSartin.

After speaking with Tax Collector-Assessor Nancy Jordan, Earnestsaid approximately $2.2 million in new real property in thedistrict had been identified.

At the current tax levy, that would mean an additional $130,000to the district. For its 2001-02 budget, the district is asking forabout $28,000 more, meaning the tax levy could be lowered by atleast 1.3 mills.

“That’s just real property. It’s going to be more than that,”Earnest said about an expected tax levy rate drop.

A county-wide property reappraisal is currently under way andindications are that overall property values are up. Higher overallvalues could allow tax authorities to lower tax levy rates,although some individuals may pay more because their property valueincreases could not be fully offset by a millage rate drop.

The Brookhaven School District budget calls for $5.43 millionnext year in local ad valorem property taxes. School districtsrequest a dollar amount and tax authorities, in this case thecity’s board of aldermen, are required to set the tax levysufficient to generate the needed funds.

Despite a 7.9-mill increase this year to cover bond issuepayments for a high school renovation project, Bounds pointed outthe current 58.52 millage rate was lower than it was in 1995-96when it was 58.96 mills. The millage rate saw a big drop in the1997-98 school year following an earlier county-wide propertyreappraisal.

According to the proposed budget, the district is forecasting$24.5 million in expenditures next year. Almost $6.3 million ofthat is related to the high school renovation and expansionproject.

Including construction spending, Earnest said personnel salariesand benefits represent 56 percent of the budget. Without theconstruction spending, salaries and benefits represent 81 percentof the budget.

In other spending areas, $85,000 has been set aside to coverrising utility expenses next year. Bounds said utility use had notincreased, but the costs had.

“We were over budget on utility expenses by mid-February thisyear,” Bounds said about the school fiscal year that ends June30.

Also, school officials have left $177,000 in undesignatedrevenue in expectation of further funding cuts from the state nextyear. Bounds said the district had sustained $90,000 in statefunding cuts this year.

“We didn’t want to get in a situation like we had this yearwhere we were borrowing from here to there,” Bounds said regardingmoney movement between various funds to cover expenses.

Earnest said the 2001-02 budget will be presented for approvalat the Tuesday, June 26, school board meeting.

“We are very pleased with the stability of our budget,” saidBounds, while complimenting Earnest on her efforts. “We work realhard to make sure that we are good stewards of the taxpayers’money.”