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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JANUARY 15, 2009 — PAGE 3A
Schools expect to borrow
money in Feb. due to late taxes
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The domino effect of tax
bills being sent late will mean
the Madison County School
System will likely run out of
money by late February.
Madison County schools
superintendent Dr. Mitch
McGhee told the board of edu
cation (BOE) that he’ll recom
mended next month that it take
out a Tax Anticipatory Notice
(TAN) to borrow the funds
needed to operate schools
until tax revenue comes in.
“There’s nothing for y’all to
approve right now,” McGhee
told the school board Tuesday
night. “But I wanted to keep
y’all up (to date) with where
we are right now.”
Late county tax notices have
held up school tax collections,
McGhee said, and without
that revenue, the school sys
tem can only operate on its
reserves until Feb, 20.
“As it stands now, we will
run out of money at the end of
February,” he said.
The school system will
seek bids from banks for the
TAN. Madison County will
pay back the loan with the tax
revenue, plus interest.
“We’ll have to pay some
interest,” McGhee said.
“That’s the down side to
that.”
The superintendent said tax
collections could start rolling
in by April or May.
“We’ll have to float the TAN
for two or three months until
the tax money starts coming
in,” McGhee said.
School system under hiring freeze
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Until the school board
knows what next year’s
budget might look like,
there will be no hires made
for 2009-2010, according
to Madison County Schools
superintendent Dr. Mitch
McGhee.
“We are not hiring for
next year at all until we
figure out exactly where
we are with the budget,”
he said.
With anticipated state
funding cuts looming
from the governor’s office,
McGhee said he was “very
concerned” about the bud
get outlook going into the
fiscal year of 2010.
In the past, all standard
programs didn’t have to be
resubmitted to the budget
process.
Not this time, McGhee
said.
“We’re doing zero-based
budgeting,” he said. “Every
single program, every
single teaching position,
everything that we have, is
going to have to be justified
by a principal or a depart
ment head.”
The board will hold work
sessions to start the bud
get planning process in the
coming months.
McGhee said this could
prove to be a laborious pro
cess.
“It’s going to take us some
time to do all that, but that’s
why we’re getting started
now,” he said.
BOE receives wish list for
possible MGHS improvements
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetne ws. com
Thirteen items have been
listed as possible improve
ments to Madison County
High School, including a
new two-story wing that
would add 22 classrooms
and a new media center.
Other highlights of the
wish list include adding a
fine arts suite, new adminis
tration and counseling suites,
a new school entrance, sev
eral lab renovations, expan
sions of the gym and cafete
ria areas, placing a new roof
on the main building and
football field upgrades.
“We’ve been talking about
a major facilities project
from, I guess, the fall (board
of education) retreat ... It’s
a big part of the strategic
plan,” county school super
intendent Dr. Mitch McGhee
said at Tuesday night’s
school board meeting.
Packages for improve
ments could range between
$10-$30 million.
Of course, the economy
could be a limiting factor in
all this.
“The way the economy is
right now, it certainly may
impact what we’re able to
do, much less what we want
to do,” McGhee said.
The list of projects com
piled by the high school’s
“building leadership team,
and “were not necessarily
in priority order,” McGhee
said.
McGhee and the school
board didn’t discuss any of
the items specifically.
The list will be sent to
Charles Black Construction
and Robertson Loia Roof
who will attach approximate
price tags to the different
improvements.
“They’re going to give us
an itemized, pretty good ball
park price for each one of
these things,” McGhee said.
School leaders will then
meet with Knox Wall, a stock
and bond brokerage firm,
“to find out exactly what
our ability to raise money is
now,” McGhee said. A seven
percent growth in SPLOST
was projected a few months
ago, but that outlook has
likely changed with the eco
nomic downturn.
“I don’t think that’s going
to be the case right now,”
McGhee said. “We’ve got
to revisit our ability to raise
money.”
The school board will
convene in the next cou
ple of months to further
discuss potential facility
upgrades.
“Once I get the cost of all
these things, and our abil
ity to raise money, we’ll
need to have to sit down
and sit down and figure
out what we want to do,”
McGhee said.
Time is somewhat lim
ited.
This fall is the last time
local school boards have
the freedom to take a refer
endum to the voters.
If the board wanted to
shoot for a September ref
erendum, it would have to
finalize its plans by June.
“We’ve got time, but
we don’t have forever,”
McGhee said.
Graduation policy passes with virtually no controversy
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetne ws. com
The Madison County
school board voted Tuesday
to require that all high school
students first pass all gradu
ation tests before they can
walk across the stage at grad
uation.
Though county schools
superintendent Dr. Mitch
McGhee said this proposal
was “not without controver
sy” when presented to the
school board in December,
the new requirement passed
The Comer City Council voted
this month to approve a three-per-
cent pay raise for all full-time city
employees.
The council voted unanimously
in favor of the action at its Jan. 5
meeting.
In other business, the council heard
from Tim Holloway of Georgia
Metal Finishing Inc. on Hwy. 172
at Madico Park. Holloway request
with virtually no turbulence.
The BOE heard no public
comment over the matter, and
the central office received
just two responses against the
policy in the past month.
McGhee also noted that the
majority of teachers at the
high school endorsed the new
rule.
“The high school folks hope
this will help our pass rate for
the high school graduation
test,” McGhee said, adding
that there’s data to support an
increase in scores.
A student who fails the
their lot at 2071 Madison Street
from R-1 to R-2. Zoning administra
tor Jim Baird noted that the property
currently exists as a non-conforming
use and he recommended the coun
ty approve the request, the meeting
minutes stated. Two people spoke
in favor of the rezoning, while three
spoke against it. The matter will be
considered again at the council’s
February meeting.
graduation tests can take
the exams indefinitely, but
only the first attempt counts
toward Madison County’s
graduation rate.
Graduation rate is one of
the criteria used to assess
high schools under No Child
Left Behind.
The new policy will take
effect when this year’s soph
omores are seniors.
The school system’s current
policy allows those fulfilling
all coursework but failing the
graduation test to receive a
certificate of participation at
to be informed of special events to
be added to their site calendar.
The council set 2009 election
qualifying fees at three percent of
elected officials’ salaries. The group
heard an update from City Clerk
Stephen Sorrells on the status of a
city well.
The council met in closed session
with attorney Jim Roberts to discuss
potential litigation.
graduation, but no diploma.
Madison County isn’t the
first opting to tighten require
ments in that area.
Oglethorpe and Clarke
counties have already adopt
ed this rule. Franklin County
school leaders voted it in this
year. Jackson County is con
sidering it.
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Comer approves 3% raises
for full-time employees
ed city sewer service for his busi
ness and the council unanimously
approved the request.
The council approved Kevin
Booth as Mayor Pro Tern. They
also approved the following coun
cil member committee assign
ments: Booth, streets and sidewalks;
Melissa Yarbrough, parks and sani
tation; Howard Threlkeld, water and
sewer; and Laquita Bridges, police.
The council tabled a request by
Comer Baptist Church to rezone
The council unanimously
approved a separate request by
Barbara Bendzunas to rezone her
lot at 11 Gholston Street from R-l
to BR to operate a business at the
location.
Beth McGraw addressed the
council and expressed gratitude
for new “Stop” and "Children
at Play” signs in Royal Oaks
Subdivision. She said the Royal
Oaks Homeowners Association is
creating a web site and would like
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