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Jones County, Ga., Education Board Approves Millage Rate Increase

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 21:00 CDT

Aug. 17--GRAY -- The Jones County Board of Education voted Tuesday night for a tentative 2 mill increase for the 2005-06 school year.

Coupled with a 2 mill increase approved by the Jones County Commission last week, the millage rate for unincorporated Jones County would become 30.568. That would raise taxes on $100,000 of property by $160 before any deductions.

School board president Ted Stone said the board members "thought long and hard" about ways not to increase taxes, especially in light of the increase by the county commission.

"But there was just no way to do it," he said.

Stone said the county's growth, cuts in state funding and increased costs all combined to boost the school system's budget to nearly $35 million for this year.

"We haven't had an increase in several years, and we've had to dip into our reserves. We just can't continue doing that," he said.

"The state's austerity budget cut our funding by $1,062,000 each of the last two years and will probably cut it $1,092,000 this year. We're opening a new school in January, we've got a 4.8 percent growth rate in students, the new subdivisions being built now could bring 1,889 new homes here in the next year, and we need to begin looking for land for new schools down the road. And we need to replenish our reserve funds. All of that means we had to go up on the budget."

Before the millage increase can go into effect, the board must hold three public hearings for comments from residents. They have been scheduled for Aug. 25 at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. in the board conference room on Stewart Avenue. The board will vote on the final increase after the Sept. 1 public hearing.

"To do our responsibility to the people of Jones County means providing the quality of education for their children that they are used to, and this is what it takes," Stone said.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Macon Telegraph, Ga.

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Source: The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)

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