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o o APRIL 27, 2023 Madison County Journal Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006 MadisonJoumaITODAY.com Vol. 40 No. 12 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 16 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements $1.00 EDUCATION INTERNET Eyeing the numbers Madison County BOE meets on 2023-24 budget Schools — By the numbers •Proposed operating budget: $66.1 million (Revenues — State: $42.5 million, local: $18.67 million; other — federal/state grants: $4.2) •How funds are used in Madison County (proposed 2023-24): Instruction and support: 78.7%; administration: 8.4%; business support services: 1.84%; maintenance and transportation: 11.06% •Salary increases: $1,344,160 ($2,000 for certified, 5.1% for school nutrition, nurses and transportation, 5% for classified) •Unassigned fund balance: FY2018 — $3,389,535; FY2019 — $4,301,484; FY2020 —$5,927,137; FY2021 —$13,776,887; FY2022 —$17,969,470; FY2023 — $18,469,470 •FICA/TRS (retirement) increase: $252,400 •Health insurance increase: $3,977,720 •Georgia Network for Educational Therapeutic Support (GNETS) in crease: $300,000 •Equalization funds declining: With Madison County's property value in creases over the past two years, the school system is getting less "equalization" funding from the state that levels the playing field between wealthy and poor counties. The system received $6,996,400 in 2021. That funding is projected at $4,638,610 in 2024, down $2,357,790 By Alison Smith While the school system's unal located reserves are healthy. Superintendent Michael Williams and his staff warned the Madison County Board of Education to look ahead and plan for increasing costs. Williams reported last Friday morning in a budget work session for the 2024 fiscal year that the unas signed fund balance, or the funds not designated for spending in the current fiscal year, will increase $500,000 to at least $18.5 million by the end of this year. The fund has increased over $12.5 million since 2020, largely due to Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) funding as part of the Federal CARES Act for COVID relief. The schools leader reminded the group the state suggests that districts reserve 16-to-20 percent of their bud get for unforeseen expenses. District 2 board member Dan Lampe iden tified the projected fund balance is closer to 30 percent of the tentative budget plans. Even with the positive financial position, Williams encouraged the board to look toward a possible eco nomic downturn, future facilities needs, inflation, and state-mandated expenditures as budget pressures for the next few years. The superintendent’s office noted that it has not yet received its allot ment figures when projecting the budget suggestions, but the prelim inary budget on Friday totaled over $66 million with revenues projected at about $65 million. Williams indi cated he had been told by tax com missioner Lamar Dalton to expect at minimum a three-percent increase in the overall tax digest for next year. The system’s budget faces a few new costs that push the numbers higher than last year. First are the unfunded state mandat ed increases in expenditures. These include over $1 million in salary increases. Certified staff will receive a $2,000 increase in salary. Nutrition, nursing, and transportation staff will see 5.1 percent increases in pay. Increasing salaries also mean bal looning retirement funds and FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) matching funds for the county. Health insurance costs are to balloon by almost $4 million, and services for students with social, emotion al, and/or behavioral challenges will gain an extra $300,000 next year. These costs do not include infla tionary pressures of other purchases within the county system. Another budget pressure is the funding equation that grants tax dol lars from the state. Increases in prop erty values increased the property tax base. However, because of the boost in values, the county no longer quali fies for extra funding provided by the state for low-wealth counties. “Madison County is not considered a low-wealth district anymore, so low-wealth funding is not an option See ‘BOE’ on 2A BOC Chairman offers update on broadband project By Zach Mitcham zach @ mainstreetnews.com Madison County Commission Chairman Todd Higdon offered an update on a planned broadband expansion project in Madison County that will lay roughly 600 miles of fiber in the ground in the county. Spectrum Southeast was awarded an $18.4 million grant to expand broadband internet services in Madison County, with a completion date of December 2026. The project will include several phases, with ground construc tion scheduled to begin in approximately 12 months. “To be honest with you, ground construction has already started, and if you’re worried about what area of the county it’s going in, we did see the maps,” said Higdon, who recently met with Spectrum officials. “It is all over the county, which I was a little surprised about, because I knew how the awards went, to see so much in Harrison. Charter Spectrum, they already have all the cit ies (in Madison County). So the vast amount of the $18.4 million is going outside the cities. I don’t think I saw an area that won’t get it in the county.” Higdon said Spectrum is developing a website so citi zens “can find out when it’s coming to your house or if your house is on that market.” COMP PLAN In a separate matter, the board postponed official approval of the 20-year county comprehensive land use plan Monday. That plan comes after a year of input from the public and many meetings to determine the best path forward for the county in terms of land use, growth, infrastructure and other long-term outlooks. Drago Tesanovich of Colbert praised the commissioners Monday for their work on the comp plan over the past year, noting that the board did a lot to get input from the public. Tesanovich also asked commissioners to consider adopting guidelines on light pollution in the county. Commissioner Terry Chandler asked fellow board members to put off final approval of the comprehen sive plan Monday until the group hears back from the planning commission on several zoning ordinance rec ommendations. The group agreed to consider the matter again at its May 22 meeting. The deadline for completion of plan is June 30. GRANT APPLICATIONS The Madison County commissioners, with the assis tance of the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission, recently submitted nine applications for three projects through three potential funding sources. The board is seeking $7 million in financial aid. The commissioners are seeking to upgrade county infrastructure. See ‘BOC’ on 2A COMMUNITY At The Perch: Afterschool program bridging learning and social gaps post pandemic After school students work on crafts projects at The Perch in Comer. Index: News — 1-2A Crime — 3A Opinions — 4-6A Church — 7 A Social — 8A Sports — 1B School — 2B, 5B, 8B Classifieds — 3B Obituaries — 4-5B Legals — 6-7B Contact: Phone: 706-367-5233 Web: MadisonJournal TODAY.com News submissions: zach@ mainstreetnews.com 8 ■■04879 14144 By Alison Smith Schools shut down in the spring of 2020, and many students lost connection to their peers and communi ties. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declares mental health issues like depres sion. sadness, and hope lessness are still impact ing high school students. However, data from a March 2022 report reveals that students who felt con nections to adults and peers during that time have sig nificantly less issues with their mental health. Angie Martin saw that potential problem and has addressed it head-on with an afterschool program in Comer at the Perch Community Center. Martin’s background in education over several states gives her insight into serving middle and high school students, but her work with refugees served by Jubilee Partners for two years also encouraged her to connect with the youth. “This is the age group with the least afterschool programming,” she said. Even more, she estimates the language barrier with some of the immigrant families who have settled in Comer as a potential cause to enlarge the impacts of COVID isolation on teen agers in the area. She says the main goal of the program is socializa tion. Martin and her group of volunteers hope to help their participants navigate the tricky adolescent years by developing social skills and supporting in-person activities without a depen dence on their electronic devices. “I hope to encourage them to feel safe and com fortable with being them selves,” the director pledg es. The afterschool pro gram began in fall of 2021 with the aid of a Building Opportunities in Out-of- School Time (BOOST) grant from the Georgia Afterschool Network (GASN). According to the GASN website, the BOOST grants aim to expand access to programs for students who were most impacted academically and socially by the pandem ic. Those target groups include students in rural areas, English learners, and migratory youth. The grant is issued in a three-year cycle with annual renewals. On a typical day, Martin serves the students a healthy afterschool snack. They’re a mix of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. “They’re always hungry,” she jokes. Angie especially appre ciates the support of the school system. “If the schools didn’t provide transportation, we wouldn’t be able to func tion.” she said. The kids arrive sepa rately by bus but quick ly connect with the adults and other students. One recent afternoon, the first student to arrive recount ed her sibling’s schedule with play practice. The sib ling is missing the physical connection with the after school program, but Martin promises to go see the play. Likewise, Angie pro vides another example of the group’s connection. Last year, after a student’s family experienced a car accident, participants and volunteers were able to provide both physical and emotional support with vis its to the hospital. “The connections still exist, even when the kids aren’t here anymore.” she said. Initially, the afterschool program networked with in the community through other non-profits. Martin and volunteers still have connections with the fam- See ‘The Perch’ on 2A