CLEVELAND, Ga. – The White County Board of Education will hold the second public hearing on the fiscal year 2018 budget Thursday at 6 p.m.

School officials say they are facing a budget shortfall of $145,515, but that amount can be made up out of the fund balance and no millage increase is expected.

However, the final tax digest numbers from the tax commissioner’s office will not be available until July so school officials have not been able to calculate whether there will be a rollback millage rate. If the school system or county is not willing to rollback the millage rate to be consistent with what the tax commissioner has calculated, it would be deemed a tax increase for the system. A notice of property tax increase would have to be advertised and two more public hearings held.

Board members will also discuss renewal of an agreement with the City of Cleveland and White County Sheriff’s Office to provide school resource officers (SRO) at schools.

Also on the agenda will be a discussion of furlough days to be observed and five-year facilities plan.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at www.fetchyournews.com