[5/21/03]During a budget hearing Tuesday night, Vicksburg Warren School District officials confirmed they would not raise local property tax rates to fund the district’s budget for the new year.

“Because the Legislature has fully funded the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, we don’t project an increase in our tax request,” Superintendent Donald Oakes said.

The MAEP was established by the Legislature in 1997 as primary funding for the state’s school districts.

Local property taxes, collected on homes, cars, industries and businesses, supplement the state allocation. The local rates were increased last year due to expected shortfalls in state funding.

About 49 percent of the district’s $59.5 million budget comes from the state, and about 33 percent is provided by local taxpayers. The rest comes from federal sources.

A state-required advertisement appearing in the newspaper has wording that could be misleading. The district does expect more money from local taxpayers, but because of higher assessed values of properties not higher rates. In other words, since homes and vehicles cost more, their owners pay more taxes, even if the rate stays even.

“This board tries to be a good steward of people’s money,” District 2 Trustee Zelmarine Murphy said. “We are delighted that we have not had to ask for a tax increase.”

The school district’s budget for the year ending June 30 is $58.8 million. For the 2003-2004 year, the budget sessions are focusing on how much more there will be.

The increase in the budget comes largely from an increase in the state-set portion of teacher and teacher assistant pay. About 70 percent of the budget is allotted for employees’ salaries and benefits.

State legislators voted early in the 2003 regular session to fully fund education, a move that has been praised by local educators.

“The early full funding by legislators made our job, as far as the budget process goes, much easier,” board President Kay Aasand said.

With the exception of some school district employees, only two citizens attended the hearing. Oakes said he regretted that the statutory language of the advertisement has been confusing.

“It doesn’t make sense for us to put in the newspaper that we’re having a tax increase when we’re not,” he said.

For several years, bills have failed in the Legislature that were designed to make wording of the required notices more understandable.