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If you have read this week’s county papers you saw on page A10 the School Board’s advertisement for the proposed budget for FY 2027. Please know that I and one other board member voted against this proposed budget. Moreover, I voted against advertising this budget as a last-ditch effort to stop it but I was outvoted 4-1.
You will notice the Board is proposing to increase the budget for 2027 to $44,521,973. This is an increase of $1,463,398 above the 2026 budget of $43,058,575. Please note that student enrollment in Simpson County schools at the end of this school year was 52 students less than 2026. In other words, your board proposes to increase spending even though student enrollment continues to decline. With a present enrollment of 2,685 students, your board by its 3-2 vote majority proposes to spend $16,582 per student in 2027.
You will also notice that the school board proposes to request from the Board of Supervisors local funding in the amount of $14,038,300. Last year the Board of Supervisors funded the schools a total of $11,347,245 which was an increase of $336,227 from the previous year of 2025. Now the School Board (by its 3-2 vote majority) is requesting from the County an increase of $2,696,055, which is an increase of 23.7%. The only way the Board of Supervisors can fund this would be to drastically increase the school tax or drastically cut the funding for other departments like the sheriff’s department, the county jail, the road department, the courthouse staff, emergency management, etc.
You also need to be aware that last year the School Board voted (with me voting “no”) to borrow $2,420,754 by means of a “shortfall note” when the Board of Supervisors did not fully fund last year’s budget request. You also need to be aware that some in the School District Administration and some on the Board will likely push for another “shortfall note” if the Board of Supervisors does not fully fund the School Board’s request for 2027.
If you don’t want your taxes raised and if you don’t want your school district to keep borrowing money you might want to let your school board representative know what you think. You might also want to contact your supervisor and be sure he knows what you think. You also might want to attend the budget hearing at the District Office in Mendenhall on June 18 at 5:30 PM. The public has a right to speak at this meeting. Remember Simpson County Schools belong to every taxpaying citizen of Simpson County whether you have children in the public schools or not.
Your servant,
Thomas Ray Floyd/ School Board Representative District 3
601-862-3919
