Taxes will not increase for tax payers in the Kosciusko School District.
The Kosciusko Board of Trustees approved the district $19.7 million budget during its meeting Monday night.
The $19,713,150 budget for the 2016-17 school year will see nearly 28 percent of its budget coming from 54.03 operating and debt service mills. The remaining comes from state, federal and section 16 sources. The budget represents a 1.3 percent increase from the 2015-16 budget, mainly due to the addition of a pre-kindergarten program.
In other business the board received an update on the modular classroom installation for the pre-k program at lower elementary school.
“The first unit, maybe two, will be delivered next week and then after that will be delivered a unit per week,” principal Michelle Nowell said. “We have it worked out to where all pre-k classes will have a temporary classroom until all the modular units are delivered with school starting in just a few weeks.”
Other action taken by the board include
• approving a change in graduation requirements for incoming freshmen, increasing the required courses to 24 hours for traditional pathway and 26 for advanced pathway;
• approving advertising for lawn maintenance for all schools, special education and athletic fields;
• approving the hiring of teachers Sid Wheatley, Dacry Bingham, Colby Wollfarth, Anita Jenkins and Andrea Carter. Christy Cheek was hired as an assistant teacher at lower elementary, while Lynn Scribner was named a counselor at the high school;
• approving a contract change with Dr. Chancey Fort at lower elementary and Billie Jamison at upper elementary
• approving Manza Blaine as KJH cheer sponsor, Wes Carlisle as networking engineer and Katrina Rankin as a special education teacher at lower elementary;
• approving Scott Blaylock as a social studies teacher at KHS and Beth Moss as a teacher at middle elementary along with Tara Tavares as a bus driver;
• accepting the resignation of Tonya Rawson;
• approving the transfer of three students out of the district and accepted one into the district;
• approving the Renissance Learning sole source letter for 2016-17 school year.
