Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Prescott School Board Adopts Budget

A budget has been approved by the Prescott School Board.

Meeting in special session, Tuesday, Sept. 7, the panel examined the financial document prepared by Prescott Superintendent Ron Wright.

The board was informed the total assessments are down from last year, especially in the area of utilities and personal property, while real estate taxes are up.

This means, he said, the district will be receiving less local revenue than it did last year. Wright told the board he isn't sure why the personal and utility taxes are down this year.

The district, he added, bases its annual budget on an anticipated 85.9 percent of the populace paying their taxes on time.

Board member Jim Franks voiced confusion on how personal property taxes could be down, unless a considerable amount of personal property has been removed from the tax books.

Wright said the district gets its figures from the state, with the state getting its information from the county.

"I can only speculate," he said, "and I don't want to do this. A decline in population, though, could be part of the answer."

Franks pointed out the difference in the figures from last year to this year is about 18 percent, representing a considerable drop. The figures went from $10.8 million for the 1998-99 school year to about $9.2 million for the 1999-2000 year.

Wright plans on discussing this with Pam Box, the Nevada County Tax Assessor, to see where the problem may be.

He said the budget doesn't reflect any money from delinquent taxes, as these monies are treated as a windfall later on in the year, when and if they come in.

The last count for student population Wright had was 1,106. He told the board the district is also without four certified instructors, with the money saves from these slots being put back into salary.

Salaries, he said, make up more than $2.5 million of the budget.

Wright also pointed out just because items have been budgeted, the money doesn't necessarily have to be spent.

Instead, he said, this money could be used as a buffer should something unexpected arise.

Discussing the district's building fund, Wright said there are now covered walkways at Prescott Middle School and a new roof covering Prescott Elementary School.

New bleachers have been installed at the football field, with a new press box almost finished.

The district, he said, has seen an increase in the amount of special education money it receives, but this shows there are more students needing special help.

Athletics, he said, is a bit out of whack, but this is because the district had to purchase new football helmets to insure the safety of the players.

Several old helmets were replaced with new certified ones. This, though, Wright said, will not be in next year's budget.

The board approved the budget, and Wright will see where the problem may be on personal taxes when he talks with the assessor.

In other business, the board accepted the resignations of Angela Cottingham and Rico Rhodes from the lunchroom, hired Michelle Weems, Anna Roach and Diana Hill as new lunchroom workers, and hired Eric Barbaree and Billy Morris as regular bus route drivers.