Having endured one of the steepest economic nosedives in recent memory, the financial status of Pike County Schools is on the rebound. We’ve experienced three fiscal years of refreshed State revenues, salary furloughs are in our rear view mirror and many of the underfunded areas of our budget are receiving a much needed infusion of funding attention. For the past three budget cycles, our community embraced the necessity of increased local funding via property tax; thus recognizing, at least in part, the “new normal” in the state / local educational funding partnership. Unfortunately, after beginning to get back on solid footing, the pandemic, much like the Great Recession, has cut state funding for education. The final state allocation for SY21 represents an 8% or $1,705,320 cut for the Pike County School District. Despite this downturn in state funding, Pike enjoyed a robust, and long overdue, property re-evalation resulting in an 25% increase in the local tax digest. Although, the Board of education rolled back the millage rate by 1.925, we increased the millage .75 over the rollback rate. The small millage increase coupled with a significant portion of fund reserve (24% or $545, 000) balanced the budget.
The District’s fund reserves, the “rainy day” fund used to weather the Great Recession, remains well below the goal level of 10% . Much has been accomplished with local ESPLOST funds: New HVAC systems were installed at every location with the exception of the Middle School, which still has 5 years before the system is eligible for state capital outlay funding. The High School and Primary school received new roofs, and in SY22 the Elementary is scheduled for a new roof. Various aspects of the District’s buildings (restrooms and kitchens) along with roads and technology infrastructure remain in need of refresh and repair. Instructional supports such as textbooks and instructional technology continue to be a critical need, especially at the Primary School where a core reading adoption remains priority number 1.
There is progress being made despite the constraints posed by being a small town school district heavily reliant on property taxes. Exciting, challenging instructional initiatives are underway; many bearing the fresh fruit of student achievement. Innovative instructional training continues to prepare our professional staff for new levels of rigor and relevance across the entire PK-12 spectrum. All buildings have undergone renovation to lighting and HVAC. Our collective desire to foster creative problem solvers challenged by a world class educational and extracurricular environment remains unabated.
Financially, many challenges remain for Pike County Schools. We are embracing the difficulties and celebrating the successes with equal vigor. We are confident the Pike community will continue to support us as we demonstrate resolve, innovation, and ingenuity in the face of an inequitable State funding system.
Links:
Georgia Department of Education
Department of Audits and Accounts
GaDoE Financial Review??