Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Voters reject millage increase

The voters of Prescott turned down a request for an increase in the millage for the Prescott School District. The vote 412 against the increased tax and 203 for the tax. The only other issue on the Sept. 19 school election ballot was an unopposed seat for the board held by board secretary Sandra Evans-Tatum.

The board held a special meeting a week prior to the election in the hopes of handing out some information to citizens, but there were few in attendance.

Meanwhile, the board conducted some business, including the passage of the budget for the 2006-07 school year. That budget has been discussed in general terms as the year got underway, though Prescott Superintendent Hyacinth Deon had said all the information needed to finalize the budget simply hadnt been available.

Most people will not be surprised to learn that the fuel budget took a major hit during the 2004-05 school year. Board member Shane Meador asked Deon if she felt confident that the amount put into the current budget for the school district would be sufficient. Deon said the fluctuations make it difficult to judge, but said she believed the estimate to be as accurate as possible.

Another major issue for the district has been student enrollment. After showing decreasing enrollment over the past three years, Deon said the trend may be on the upswing. She told board members that the student count in October would be crucial, as thats the time student count is taken for disbursement of state and federal funding.

According to information from the school, the enrollment last year stood at 1,054 students. This years count is a total of 1,057. Deon reminded the board that families and students are very mobile and that its not always possible to guess how many students will actually settle into the district.