School Board Contemplates Budget Increase
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WATER VALLEY – Rising property values in Yalobusha County could lead to a lower millage rate for local school taxes, even as the Water Valley School District will likely request more funding for the upcoming year. That tradeoff—more funding a lower millage rate—was the focus of the June 23 school board meeting, as members began budget planning while still waiting on final figures from the State of Mississippi.
District Business Manager Randy Goodwin opened discussion during the June 23 meeting by explaining that the Water Valley School District still hasn’t received the amount of its state appropriation for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1.
“As of today, we still have not received an appropriation for fiscal year 2026,” Goodwin told the board.
Without knowing that dollar amount, Goodwin told board members that the budget hearing will be delayed. Each year, the district is required to hold a public hearing before adopting a new budget. That hearing must be advertised three times in the North Mississippi Herald and is typically held before July 1.
“In my 24 years of serving as business manager, it has never been June 23 and the state has not told us how much money we are getting,” Goodwin said, adding that school districts across Mississippi are in the same situation.
The delay stems from the Mississippi Legislature’s failure to pass the full state budget during the regular session that ended in early April. Governor Tate Reeves called a special session in late May, and lawmakers returned to Jackson to try and finish the roughly $7.1 billion spending plan. But even in the special session, negotiations have moved slowly. As of the June 23 meeting, the final education funding numbers still had not been released to districts.
Millage Rate Could Drop
During the discussion Goodwin and Superintendent Drew Pitcock also explained how rising property values will affect local school taxes this year.
A mill is one-tenth of one percent (0.001) of a property’s assessed value. The millage rate is the number of mills levied to generate local tax revenue. School officials do not set the millage rate itself each year —it simply requests the total dollars needed, and the Yalobusha County Board of Supervisors levies millage based on total property values within the Water Valley School District.
Earlier this year, Yalobusha County Tax Assessor Michael Walton met with both the Board of Supervisors, city boards and the school board to explain that a state-mandated adjustment to property index values will lead to a 20 to 25 percent increase in taxable values for most real property across the county. Walton said this adjustment is required periodically to reflect market trends and ensure assessments are up to state standards.
Walton emphasized that this change does not automatically increase tax bills—instead, it affects how millage rates are calculated.
Pitcock explained that if the school district requests the same amount of local funding as last year, the millage rate would actually decrease.
Goodwin provided a breakdown, explaining that for the 2024–2025 fiscal year, the district received $2,068,831 in local property tax revenue for its general maintenance fund. That required a millage rate of 46.16 mills. With an estimated 20 percent increase in property values, Goodwin said the same amount could be raised this year with just 38.47 mills—a drop of nearly 8 mills.
Board member Tonya Eubanks asked, “If we asked for the same dollars?”
“Yes,” Goodwin confirmed.
Considering An Increase
State law allows school districts to request up to a seven percent increase in local ad valorem (property tax) collections each year without triggering a public vote. In Water Valley’s case, that would mean the district could request up to $144,818.17 more in funding this year without a referendum.
“We would be asking for more dollars, but less mills,” Goodwin reiterated.
He also noted that even with the increase, the district would still be well below the 55-mill cap set by state law for school maintenance funding. That cap had limited the district’s ability to grow revenue in past years but with property values rising, the district has more room to work with going forward.
Board member Joseph Flippin asked why the district hadn’t requested the full seven percent increase in the past. Eubanks also asked whether a steady increase might be a smart long-term strategy.
Goodwin explained that when the millage rate was already close to 55 mills, the district had to be cautious.
“Because when you are at 46 mills, you don’t have but nine mills to spare,” he said.
In recent years, federal COVID relief funds helped ease budget pressure, but before that, the district would routinely request small increases of two to four percent.
“You don’t want to get to 55 mills, because you can’t ask for any more,” Goodwin said. “But with the new assessment, it will drop back down.”
Eubanks said the board should be thinking long-term about investments in the district.
“If we are thinking long term, and the things we would like to do to change some things, it may be worth going ahead and asking for it,” she said, referring to the full increase allowed under state law.
Goodwin agreed, though he pointed out that even the full seven percent increase isn’t a major change in the district’s overall funding. “It’s not a huge number,” he said, noting that the district’s total budget—combining federal, state and local sources—is about $12 million.
Board members ultimately agreed to move forward with publishing a public notice stating the district will request the full seven percent increase. Goodwin said the district can always approve a lower amount later, but if the published notice reflects a smaller number, they cannot increase it without triggering a referendum.
The school budget must be adopted by August 15.
