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ZEBULON - The Pike County Board of Education met on Wednesday, August 13 2025 at 12 p.m. in the Pike County Schools Auditorium located at 7362 Hwy 19 South in Zebulon. Three Board members were present: Emily O'Steen, Brian Hubbard, and Marcie Bradberry along with Superintendent Shane Williamson and Janette Bradley to record the minutes.

Members of the public who spoke in the meeting were Randall Harris, Marsha Elixson(?), Ed English, William Harris, and Martin Collins.

1. Call to Order

2. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

3. Approval of the Formal Agenda
Motion to approve. Approved.

4. Millage Update - Finance Director Debbie Woerner

Superintendent Williamson thanked everyone for being there and said when the rest of the meetings would be. [Note from the Editor: This meeting is on FB Live on the Pike County Times page, but it is hard to hear the citizens talking at times since this was conducted like an informal Town Hall with the citizens speaking and asking questions without having to come up to the microphone. I am providing a synopsis of what was said.]

Said that 14 mills was the past millage rate, and they are requesting 13.5 mills. 12.96 is the rollback rate from last year. The variance of going from 12.96 to 13.5 mills is $566,091. The reasoning for that is to not have to drop so low that we have to raise it back up next year. We want to provide a safe and well-maintained facility and attract and retain quality employees. About 85% of funds from the state go to employees for salary and benefits. Facilities, safety, etc. come from local funding. We want to provide a small rollback and any extra will go toward facilities including 6 buses that have needed major motor work.

We are trying to retain employees. Gave a supplement last year. Trying to make sure that we have a budget that we can operate in and give any extra to employees to retain them. School systems attract people to the community and we want to do the best for the students. This comes down to $566,091. The second meeting will be at 6 p.m. [Note from the Editor: This meeting has already occurred.] Finance Director Debbie Woerner is here to help with questions.

5. Participation by Visitors

[Note from the Editor: I have the names above for the BOE but did not have them when I was recording so I am simply identifying each speaker's comments.]

Citizen. Worried about the millage and the tax rate because of assessments. Still on a dirt road. Concerned about the taxes. Williamson clarified that roads are on the county's portion of the taxes and not ours. Consensus that the process was confusing with two sets of hearings going on.

Another citizen about the difference. Asked about the difference between the two.

Williamson. 12.96 is what we had last year, but going up to 13.5 is $566,091. If we went with last year's numbers, we wouldn't even need public hearings. Said that the Department of Education has an age limit on building that have to be kept up to code. Remodeling or building new schools is required along with other things as buildings age. Trying to make sure that we have enough for an HVAC system if it goes out. Also said that they have Chromebooks, are constantly having to replace them, and the state does not replace the chrome books. Try to keep enough to meet emergency needs like Chromebooks and AC. Also trying to keep our employees.

What is the budget increase from last year to now? The increase is 4.94%. 85% of the budget is personnel. State benefit plan insurance premiums went up for employees. From bus drivers to teachers to parapros. The standard is about $22,300 a year to cover the employee piece of the insurance plans. Simple terms. The state refunds us back the $22,300 for that but not the bus drivers and parapros. That is set by the state and eats up the majority of our budget.

HB 581. We showed the chart at showing how we are doing a good job of lowering when possible. Don’t want to lower too much and have to go up next year. Hope that once assessments are done, there will be some stability. Trying to lower this year and hopefully lower again next year. For a $350,000 home. Will go up $76 a year.

They talked about the assessment notice. The final bill hasn’t been set yet. 12.96 millage rate is because the assessment went up. This board makes the decision on the millage rate. ESPLOST is paid by everyone who comes through here that go toward certain projects that are specified.

The speaker is trying to understand things.

Williamson. Documentation about the school is on our website, and we’ll be happy to answer questions. Said that our board looked hard at HB 581 and chose not to approve that because there was no sunset on it and a lot of questions that weren’t answered. It’s been a very different year with a lot of changes. I hope that you understand what it’s about, the dollar amount. How much money am I looking at having to pay is what we are trying to help people understand.

Man from the audience. Upset about $500,000 surplus. Said that the school system gave away surplus $1.6 million of tax payer’s money. Doesn’t agree with that.

Hubbard. No one is going to say that school teachers make too much money. We had a surplus, and we gave that money back to the school teachers. If we planted flowers or friviously wasted that money, it would be a different story. But if we don’t take care of people in the classroom, they will go elsewhere. We have to be competitive. Why have an extra $500,000 in the budget? The permit on this driveway have been almost $400,000 to widen that entrance. The cost of doing business is a lot.

Citizen comment. This county is made up of a lot of retired individuals. For someone on a fixed income, this is a tough pill to swallow. We need to pay for what we can afford. If taxes keep going up, our children can’t afford to stay.

Another citizen. Upset that the whole board isn’t here because they won’t hear what he has to say. Every dollar you take from me comes out of my pocket. There is an end to that supply. It’s not an endless supply. More money doesn’t equate to a better education. What we are getting is not necessarily more educated students. Government agencies don’t know how to say, It’s ENOUGH. I can’t afford to move. What do you do? I don’t know of any citizens’ comments that have made any difference.

Williamson. We are listening, and we appreciate you being here. Thank you for speaking.

Another citizen. On a fixed income. Never had a child. Paying taxes all his life. Doesn’t think that it’s right to tax senior citizens. We’ve paid our fair share. You’re taking from somebody who needs the money. It’s stealing. Respecting elders means not charging seniors for school taxes. What you are doing is legal, but it’s legalized stealing.

Another question. Average salary at the school. Starting salary is $41,000. Then degrees affect the amount that they get paid overall. Divide pay over 12 months.

No other questions. Williamson thanked the citizens for being there at the meeting.

6. Adjournment

12:45 p.m

Public Hearing and Regular Meeting with Vote on the SCHOOL MILLAGE RATE

Millage Hearing #3 will be held on Wednesday 8/20/25 at 5:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend and speak and/or ask questions.

The Regular Meeting & Millage Adoption will take place on Wednesday 8/20/25 at 6:00 p.m. [Note from the Editor: They cannot start the 6 p.m. meeting early even if they get done with the 5 p.m. meeting earlier.] This is also a public meeting that anyone can attend.

You can see the 2025 Tax Digest and Five Year History of the Levy at www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BREAKINGNEWSmillageratehearings.html. There are also links to the Board of Education maintenance and operations budget as well as the documentation about school finances from their website.

[Note from the Editor: The school budget and millage rate are separate from the county budget and millage rate. The page linked above this has information on both the school and the county.]

Public Hearing and Regular Meeting with Vote on the COUNTY MILLAGE RATE

The Board of Commissioners will hold its final public hearing for the county millage rate on Tuesday, August 26, 2025 at 6:30 PM. This meeting will be held in the Main Courtroom of the Pike County Courthouse (up the stairs or by elevator) located at 16001 Barnesville Street, Zebulon, in Zebulon. The public is invited to attend these meeting.

All of the same information for the county is posted at www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BREAKINGNEWSmillageratehearings.html with links to the approved budget for the county commissioners and information about their finances on the Pike County Government website.