LONG BEACH - Long Beach residents likely will pay higher property taxes because of a 4-percent proposed increase in the school district's budget.

What's new?

Part of the increase in the budget is for teacher pay raises, which are mandated by the state but not fully funded.

Let me think about this, Mississippi is 50 out of 50 states in education, but yet teachers want a pay raise.

What am I missing here, I would think where Mississippi is in the top 20 of well educated students, then a pay raise would be in order.

When did Harrison County become the county to collect tax money for teachers pay raises throughout Mississippi. 

Other expenses for the next fiscal year include a music teacher at Quarles Elementary and library assistants at the five schools. These positions were cut last year, but the School Board decided to put them back in the budget.

How can the school board decide to put the music position back into the budget knowing there is no money for the position.

Is the school board a paid position, if so, let get rid of two or three school board members, then put the music position back into the budget.

Jamie Harvey, finance director for the district, presented a budget overview at a public hearing Monday night. The board will vote on the $18.1-million budget next Monday.

I bet the board could vote today, and it would be the same vote as next Monday's.

"Nobody wants to give up any programs," he said. "They want students to have more than just the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic."

I bet the taxpayers of Mississippi would like to know where all to money for schools is spent now.

Each year Mississippi get more money from State & Federal taxes, but only a few know how the money is spent.

Harvey said those additional programs probably will mean a tax increase for residents. He explained the school district asks for a percentage increase in the budget, then the city decides what the tax rate will have to be to bring in that amount of money.

In other words, the school board decides what programs they want, vote of these programs and then lets the taxpayers no what it's going to cost them in tax increase.

Sounds like a system that the voters and taxpayers need to change.

The district's tax rate for this year is 51.7 mills. A mill is the basic unit governments and schools use to calculate property tax. A mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

I wonder who set up this basic unit tax rate?

Harvey believes the city could raise the tax rate to 55 mills for the school district, which is the maximum allowed by state law. Even then, the increase may not generate enough to cover the increase in the district's budget.

It sounds like Harvey has a problem.

"When you hit 55 mills, that's when it's going to be difficult," he said, "because that's the cap. I don't want to speculate, but that's when you see programs cut."

Like I said, I would like to see where all of the tax money spent on schools are spent.

If the city does raise taxes to the limit, a person who owns a home valued at $100,000 would pay about $32 more in taxes each year.

And I bet that makes that person happy to pay more each year, you know they can afford it.