Newspaper Page Text
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 1A
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2023
Barrow News-Journal
Barrow County News Est. 1893 • Barrow Journal Est. 2008
Merged August 2016
28 Pages, 2 Sections
A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia SI.00 Copy
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Inside
URTI0N
Apalachee
2B, 3B
Bethlehem Christian 4B, 5B
BASA 6B, 7B
Winder-Barrow 8B, 9B
School
board hears
FY24 budget
proposal
By Carole Townsend
The Barrow County School
System (BCSS) continues to
grow at a steady pace. During
the recent school year, 14,872
students attended schools
throughout the system. In the
coming school year, more
than 15,000 students are ex
pected in the halls of these
same schools,
Austin Road Elementary
School is on track to be fin
ished, having received the
certificate of occupancy last
week. Sod will be installed
in June.
At both Apalachee High
School and Winder-Bar
row High School, the tennis
courts have been complete
ly rebuilt. Construction at
BASA II is also moving
along nicely.
During the major portion
of Tuesday’s work session,
budget considerations were
presented by various de
partment heads to the board
members, covering issues
from buses to fuel, salaries to
capital projects, special ser
vices to nutrition, and more.
With the option to hold
the current millage rate at
17.881, the board considered
pros and cons of both lower
and higher millage rates.
The school board will hold
three public hearings prior
to voting on the millage rate
at the following dates and
times:
•Thursday, June 15, 10 a.m.
•Thursday, June 15,6 p.m.
•Thursday, June 22, 1 p.m.
The board will vote on the
millage rate Thursday, June
22, 6 p.m. during a special
called meeting.
In addition to budget mat
ters, the private accounting
and financial service firm
Mauldin and Jenkins is be
ing considered for a one-year
service contract with Barrow
County Schools. Two cus
todial companies, ACS and
FQS (both already contracted
to work for Barrow County
Schools), are being consid
ered for a renewed annual
contract with the school sys
tem.
These budget items and
other matters will be placed
on the board’s June 6 consent
agenda.
MAILING LABEL
Honoring traditions
^ Credit: BCSS
Graduates from Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy, Apalachee High School and
Winder Barrow High School honored the annual tradition of walking through the
halls of their former elementary schools. Pictured are graduates visiting County
Line Elementary.
Memorial Day
Winder hosts Memorial Day service
Credit: City of Winder
The City of Winder hosted a Memorial Day event Friday, May 26 at the Cultural Arts
Center. The keynote speaker was Retired Army Lt. Colonel Cary S. King, who served
in the U.S. Army and National Guard, and was in the Infantry and Artillery in Viet
nam commanding troops with the 1st Infantry Division. During his service, King
was awarded five Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, five Air Medals, the Combat Infan
tryman’s Badge and many others. “This Memorial Day, we honor and remember the
brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Their cour
age and selflessness will never be forgotten,” read a press release from the city.
Bridging cultures and
creating community
Estacion Latina Hosts Michelle and Rene
The B aiiow County
Newcomer Academy’s
student-led, Spanish
Podcast about Latin cul
ture and experiences
focuses on bridging cul
tures and creating com
munity. The Newcomer
Academy serves high
school students with lim
ited English proficiency,
who are new to the Unit
ed States.
Estacion Latina is a
Spanish-language pod
cast hosted by brother
and sister duo, Rene and
Michelle. Rene and Mi
chelle are Newcomers
from Venezuela. Each
episode features guests
and topics exploring
Latino culture in the Bar-
row County community.
Newcomer Academy
teacher Amy Wilson and
Barrow Arts and Scienc
es Academy teacher Paul
Thornton helped produce
and facilitate the podcast.
Wilson says, “A large
part of what we do at the
Newcomer Academy is
encourage our students
to share their unique
stories with us and with
each other so that we can
connect, learn from one
another, celebrate each
person’s unique experi
ences, and share these
amazing stories with
our B aiiow Bold Com
munity. Estacion Latina
allows us to bring the in
spiring stories from our
community to us! At the
Newcomer Academy, we
believe that storytelling
unites us as human be
ings and that when we
take the time to share our
stories as well as listen to
the stories of others, we
recognize our common
humanity while creating
a sense of community.”
Barrow County School
System (BCSS) School
Social Worker and pod
cast guest Laura Ether
idge says, ‘“It was an im
mense pleasure to be able
to be part of Estacion
Latina. I was able to
share part of my story on
what drove me to become
a social worker. It was
raw, unedited and vul
nerable. It was important
for me to share my story
because I will always be
proud of my roots as a
daughter of Mexican im
migrant parents. I hope
my story inspires those
who have a chance to lis
ten to it.”
BCSS Family Engage
ment Specialist and pod
cast guest Ramon Manzo
says, ‘“It was an honor to
participate in this pod
cast. I was able to share
a little bit about my story,
my struggles, and about
how hard work can lead
to achieving your goals.
I hope that what I shared
during the podcast can
inspire people who may
be facing similar situa
tions. Working with Rene
and Michelle was a blast!
They were very profes
sional, and were able to
create a very welcoming
and friendly environ
ment. Overall, it was an
amazing experience!”
The first show aired on
Feb. 7. The last episode
for the Spring 2023 se
mester was broadcast in
front of a live audience
and featured a celebra
tion of all the guests and
topics discussed. The
teachers plan to continue
the podcast with their fu
ture Newcomer Academy
classes. Rene and Mi
chelle are participating
in Work-Based Learning
next school year at the
Newcomer Academy to
continue creating epi
sodes.
Supreme
Court rejects
Winder’s appeal
in annexation
arbitration case
By Morgan Ervin
The Georgia Supreme
Court rejected the City of
Winder’s appeal challeng
ing a decision made by
an arbitration panel in a
rezoning dispute with the
county.
In early Sept. 2022, days
after the arbitration panel
ruled in the county’s favor
regarding the annexation
and rezoning of a property
located on Pearl Pentecost
Road near the West Wind
er Bypass, the city moved
forward with rezoning the
property as the applicant,
Meritage Homes, had
originally proposed and in
direct contravention to the
arbitration panel’s ruling.
In tandem with the il
legal rezoning, the city
appealed the arbitration
panel’s decision to the
Georgia Supreme Court.
In the order issued Fri
day, May 26, the Supreme
Court of Georgia reject
ed the city’s appeal and
ordered the case be dis
missed in its entirety with
all justices concurring.
Legal woes between
Barrow County and the
City of Winder, however,
are far from over.
Winder filed two ad
ditional actions against
Barrow County and the
State of Georgia in Fulton
County that also address
the arbitration panel’s
decision in the Meritage
Homes case. Both cases
have been on hold during
the appeal to the Supreme
Court and remain pend
ing. Whether the city will
bring these cases back to
the forefront following the
May 26 order from the Su
preme Court remains to be
seen as the city has made
no comment regarding the
latest ruling.
What’s more, the city
has requested the Su
preme Court’s review of
a separate lawsuit against
the county concerning ser
vice delivery strategy. The
Supreme Court hasn’t yet
responded to grant or deny
the appeal.
County’s FY24
proposed budget
presented to BOC
By Morgan Ervin
morgan@barro wnewsj ournal .com
Barrow County’s chief
financial officer presented
the Board of Commission
ers and other county lead
ers with the proposed bal
anced budget for fiscal year
2024 (FY24), which begins
July 1, 2023, and ends June
30, 2024.
Funds included in the
proposed budget are the
general fund, special rev
enue funds, capital project
funds, debt service funds
and enterprise funds.
The proposed general
fund expenditure budget for
FY24 totals $57,986,230,
representing a 9.89% in
crease compared to the fis
cal year 2023 (FY23) orig
inal budget of $52,765,715
and an 8.83% increase com
pared to the FY23 amended
budget of $53,280,532.
Key drivers of the gen
eral fund expense increase
are general insurance lia
bility, pay raises and new
full-time staff positions.
General insurance lia
bility is estimated to in
crease by about 25%, from
$1,341,285 to $1,679,183,
of which $1,406,478 is in
the general fund.
Employee pay raises con
sisting of a 3% cost of liv
ing adjustment and a 3.7%
raise for performance are
budgeted for all employ
ees except sheriff’s office
employees, detention and
constitutional officers and
elected officials.
Pay raises in the sheriff’s
office and detention center
comprise a 4.7% cost of
living raise and a 2% salary
compression adjustment.
The addition of 19 full
time and one part-time po
sitions is recommended in
this budget at a total cost of
$1,539,298. which includes
payroll taxes and county
benefits. Of the 19 added
positions, 13 are within
the sheriff’s office and will
cost roughly $1 million an
nually.
Also noteworthy in the
proposed budget is a 624%
increase from $331,459
in FY23 to $2.4 million in
FY24 in the general fund’s
contingency funds.
The proposed budget is
based on rolling the millage
rate back to revenue neutral
at 4.489 mills for the unin
corporated and 6.109 mills
for the incorporated M&O.
The proposed budget also
anticipates rolling back the
county bond millage rate
from 1.078 to 1.077 and
the economic development
bond millage rate from
0.26 to 0.259 mills. Coun
ty bonds are scheduled to
be paid off in Oct. 2026
and economic development
bonds are scheduled to be
paid off in Oct. 2031.
The fire tax millage rate
is proposed to remain the
same at 2.94 mills.
The total revenue for the
water and sewerage fund is
$49,106,234, up 136.05%
from FY23, due to an ad
ditional $36,846,269 going
into the capital project fund
from a bond. The operating
fund in water and sewerage
for FY24 is $11,684,965,
a 34.64% decrease from
FY23.
The state-required public
hearing is set for June 14 at
5:30 p.m.
Adoption of the FY24
budget is set for June 27 at
6 p.m.
OTHER BUSINESS
Also, during its meeting
on May 23. the BOC voted
on the following:
See BOC, page 2A
o
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