At this point, new school budget “a moving target”

Senator Alexander and the rest of the State Senate are returning to Columbia to work on a new state budget.  That leaves Oconee public schools with figures projected from the House of Representatives’ proposal.  And last night the county board of trustees received numbers indicating a new budget of a little more than 92 and three-quarter million dollars to include a two percent pay raise for employees and a one percent increase in the cost of insurance premiums.  Gloria Moore, district finance officer, says, “The bottom line is a deficit of $860,575.”  To erase the projected deficit, school officials hope the value of a tax mill has increased enough to cover it.  Moore told 101.7/WGOG NEWS, “We don’t want to raise the millage, and frankly, county council wouldn’t agree to it if we did.”  Another possibility is changes by the Senate.  In the end, the trustees may once be forced to turn to their old standby—their fund balance account.