The Carroll County Board of Education held its first public hearing on the system’s fiscal year 2007-08 budget Monday - including a proposal to hold the millage rate constant.

“We’re recommending no millage rate increase at this point,” Superintendent John Zauner said. The proposed rate once again will stand at 18.1 mills.

“We will make use in the growth from the tax digest,” Chief Financial Officer Greg Denney said. “There was a 7.04 percent increase in local property tax revenue this year, which resulted in an additional revenue of $2,170,224.”

Two months ago, Denney gave board members a tentative 2008 budget that did not include hard numbers from the state. But with the new figures, he pointed out that the system’s budget is within $28,000 of his projection.

“Since the budget retreat, there are very few changes,” he said. “There’s nothing substantial; we pretty much have the same budget.”

The system’s total revenues are projected at $117.6 million - up 7.53 percent from fiscal year 2006-07’s $109.4 million. Around $37.4 million would come from local revenues, such as ad valorem taxes, earnings on investments and other local revenues. The state gave the schools $78.6 million, which is a 6.85 increase from the previous year.

Expenditures totaled around $117.9 million, and the system will spend approximately $8,100 per student next school year. Denney told the board that to balance the budget, the system would use about $252,000 from its fund equity.

Other highlights of the 2008 budget include:

There is a projected increase in the student population. Approximately 850 new students will mean that the system needs to hire around 27 new teachers - estimated to cost around $1.5 million.

Since state law now requires middle school graduation coaches, the system will be adding six graduation coaches, costing $331,000.

With the completion of the new Mt. Zion Middle School, the system is hiring a principal for $96,600 a year.

Hiring a new director of instruction for grades 6-8 will cost $110,400, and hiring a director of classified personnel will cost around $55,000 a year.

More than 85 percent of the expenditures go to paying for employees’ salaries and benefits.

Extra bus runs for the Southwire program “12 For Life” means an additional $66,000, and 10 new buses will cost around $790,000. Of those 10, half of them are state-funded and half are locally funded.