On September 1, during a called meeting, the City School Board approved the rolling back of the local 17.990 millage rate to 16.414.

This was preceded by the fifth public hearing meeting held by the board, the third to allow public comment from the attending Thomasville residents.

Superintendent Raymond Bryant, during the meeting, informed the public that the value of a Mill, which the board uses to properly build their budget and set the rate, is not set by Thomasville City Schools.

“Note that Thomasville City Schools has absolutely no say so in the setting of the amount of what one Mill is worth,” Bryant said.

The board’s job, Bryant said, is to take the information and property value set by the Thomas County Tax Assessor Office and set a rate that ensures the school district remains financially balanced and prepared.

“Our goal is to ensure that the school district remains fiscally solvent,” Bryant said.

During the public tax hearing, Kimberly NeSmith, chief financial officer, discussed the budgetary differences between the recommended 17.000 and 16.414 millage rate.

She said that, while the 17.000 millage rate would end up getting the budget just under the intended $12.8 million, it would only be by roughly $15,000.

“Which gives us $441,000 under our budget,” NeSmith said. “The net difference between 17 mills and 16.414 is little over half of a mill. So $772,000, or $727,000 if we look at that net mill amount, half of that is roughly $426,000, that’s the difference total we’re looking at.”

During a called meeting after the public hearing, no motion was made to approve the FY23 millage rate at 17.000.

A motion was made by Britney Glass to approve the FY23 millage rate at the rollback rate of 16.414. It was seconded by Karen Kelso. The decision was approved unanimously 6-0.