The Brookhaven School District is looking at some funding cutsafter Gov. Haley Barbour slashed education money for the 2008-2009school year, but officials said the district will manage.

Superintendent Lea Barrett said Tuesday during the district’sboard of trustees meeting that the district will take a $463,733hit from the cuts, but Brookhaven is not alone in seeing fundingreductions.

“The total amount comes to about $90 million, with a 5 percentcut in all areas except MAEP, which is being cut by $76 million orabout 3.23 percent,” she said. “We anticipate considerably deepercuts for 2009-2010.”

Barrett said Rep. Cecil Brown, chairman of the House EducationCommittee, had told superintendents the House would be makingeducation funding a priority.

“They intend to increase the tobacco tax to $1 per pack, whichshould generate approximately $68 million, and the intent of theHouse is to put that back into education. The House did pass thismeasure yesterday,” she told the board, adding that the bill willnow move to the Senate.

The breakdown of the impact on the city school district will hithome in several areas, with funding cuts in the MississippiAdequate Education Program, instructional supplies, ad valorumreduction grants and vocational areas.

A cut will also come in the National Board Certified Teachersupplements, which are written into board certified teachers’contracts. Each teacher receives a $6,000 stipend. There is a$2,100 cut in that area, which Barrett said the school districtwill have to absorb.

School Board President Stan Patrick said the district will, ofcourse, honor those contracts.

“I’m certain we’ll be able to maintain that,” he said. “Theseare difficult times, and the economy is bad for everyone. It lookslike this is sort of a trickle down from that.”

In other action, Versie Rushing also spoke to the school boardbriefly about 16th section land, and asked two parcels be leasedfor a hunting agreement and a gravel pit. The board passed bothunanimously.

Rushing said there is also some timber that needs to be cut onone section and that bids need to be taken for that.

“It’s not very much but it needs to be done,” he said, addingthat the Mississippi State Forestry Commission does the advertisingfor bids.

Barrett also told the board that Chemistry and Anatomy andPhysiology teacher Leann Peavey has been selected to work on thenew curriculum for the High School Redesign program and will workon the writing team for polymer science.

Another teacher was also recently honored, Barrett said. KristaRussell has been selected by the College Board’s Advanced PlacementProgram to serve as a reader, which means she will receive trainingand will be involved in scoring and course revisions.