Covington County Schools will operate under at $30.16  million budget for the 2018 budget year.

Board of education members approved the budget Tuesday night. The budget includes:

• $19.9 million in state funds (66 percent)

• 3.08 million in federal funds (10 percent)

• $6.9 million in local funds (23 percent)

• $187,733 in other allocations (1 percent)

Ressie Gray, chief financial officer, said the major change in state funding is related to a decrease in system enrollment. Because the system had a decrease of 67.9 students in average daily membership state funding to the foundation program decreased by $237,492, or $3,497 per student decrease.

Gray said at present, the projected decrease in enrollment for FYE 2019 is 96 students.

“We have picked up some enrollment, but we’re not exactly sure what the net will be,” Superintendent Shannon Driver told board members Tuesday. “Today starts the first day of ADM.”

The state calculates the ADM of each school and system based on the average enrollment and attendance on the 20 school days after Labor Day.

In another area, the system saw an increase in its allocation from the Office of School Readiness, which funds Pre-K. Those figures were derived by the addition of a Pre-K class at W.S. Harlan Elementary.

The budget includes $600,000 in capital outlay, which is the completion of the new elementary wing under construction at Straughn. That project is funded by local education dollars.

The system has 401 employees, 85 percent of whom are funded with state monies; 13.2 percent of whom are funded by federal dollars; and 1.4 percent of whom are funded with local tax dollars.

Gray said expenditures include $544,421 in debt service.