School board approves budgets, start times

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Jackson-Madison County School Board votes on, not one.. but two budgets, Thursday night, totaling millions in taxpayer dollars.

Both the $101 million general and capital budgets passed unanimously, after hours of discussion. The board meeting lasted more than 5 hours, finishing up just before 10 p.m.

The big topics for the budget were in the capital projects funding which the board approved more than $5.1 million for. In the past few years they have only asked for about $2.8 million.

Board members said it will fund projects like roof and HVAC repairs at a number of schools as well as purchasing eight new buses that have air conditioning. Some officials said they are worried the big increase could throw the county commission off guard.

“I think we really need to have a communication plan for the ‘oh my gosh’ moment,” board member David Bratcher said. “How do you get them back off the floor and it explain it all to them.”

The board will present their budget proposals to the county commission budget committee Friday afternoon. If passed, from there it will go to vote in front of the entire county commission next week.

Also approved at the meeting was a two-bell system for start times. Under technology, the board approved a program that will give a laptop to every 8th grader in the system.