Brookhaven School District officials are planning an operatingbudget for the coming school year that is slightly larger than thisyear’s spending plan, but totals are still uncertain as an overallstate budget has yet to be approved.

At a public hearing Tuesday night, Superintendent Lea Barrettsaid the district’s pending $27.7 million budget for fiscal year2010 contains a spending increase of $200,000 over the fiscal year2009 budget. However, the revenue projections are based on anearlier estimation of Senate-preferred funding levels that shortseducation spending by approximately $20 million.

House and Senate negotiators have since agreed to fully fund theMississippi Adequate Education Program – the funding formulathrough which school districts receive the majority of state funds- but Barrett said her district would not bank on the extra dollarsuntil a state budget is signed into law. She said amendments to thebudget would be made when final funding numbers are disclosed.

“We’re all waiting to find out how much the real numbers willbe,” she said. “Once the governor has signed (the state budget) andwe get the numbers, then we’ll talk.”

So far, the district is planning on $13.7 million in statefunding, $9.2 million in local funding, $4.3 million in federalfunding and a further $408,000 from other special sources andprograms. MAEP funding for the district is $12.8 million – 93percent of all state funding – while 86 percent of local fundingcomes from ad valorem taxes.

Barrett said the coming year’s budget is based on last year’sfigures, but the $200,000 increase in expenditures is due to stepincreases in pay for experienced teachers, an increase inretirement contribution and increases to minimum wage.

Like all school districts, Brookhaven’s budget will be dominatedby expenditures for teachers’ salaries and benefits, with teacherpay constituting 74 percent of the total budget. Barrett said thedistrict is Lincoln County’s fourth-largest employer with 465employees, 250 of whom are teachers.

The district has not cut any programs or non-renewed contractsfor certified personnel, Barrett said, though 12 teacher positionsremain unfilled until actual funding levels are known. She saidstate funding would not allow for any construction projects thisyear.

Barrett and other school officials are nervous that more cuts toeducation, like those enacted by Gov. Haley Barbour earlier thisyear, will affect the fiscal year 2010 budget. Barrett said theMississippi School Board Association is predicting the governorwill chop $15 million from education funding in 2010, and the $49million in stimulus funding designated for school districts willnot cover the cost of cuts in 2009 and 2010.

The district does not plan to seek a property tax millageincrease this year, Barrett said.

“When the governor talks about having more money for educationthan we ever have, it’s a little misleading,” she said. “But I donot want to pass this burden on to our local taxpayers. This is notthe time to add to the economic stress we are all feeling.”

Though the district will be able to operate normally on thepending $27.7 million budget, Barrett said she is not satisfiedwith the incoming revenues.

“There’s a commitment made by our Legislature, and they need tolive up to that,” she said. “We’ve made a lot of progress in thedistrict, and I’d hate to see us stall.”