VWSD falls over $1M short on budget funding

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — “Run tell dat!” Those were the words of Vicksburg Warren School District Superintendent Dr. Tori Holloway during the Board of Trustees meeting held Thursday, May 29.

Dr. Holloway’s remarks were made in reference to how the district celebrated student and teacher success for the first hour of the meeting; however, the district remains in financial instability and is expected to be over $1 million short on the district’s budget.

The Mississippi Department of Education has reported VWSD is on probation for late audits, faulty financial reporting and poor fiscal management. It found the district had balance funds that were improperly stated.

Dr. Holloway approached the Warren County Board of Supervisors Tuesday to explain the expected shortfall in funding. He said the district will hold a budget hearing Tuesday, June 16 and declare the shortfall.

It now falls to the county to fund the $1M gap.

BOS President Dr. Kelle Barfield said the county will wait to make a decision on how to fill the gap in funding since there are still three months of tax collecting left in the fiscal year.

“Until we get those numbers and really solidify what the shortfall will be, we just have to wait,” said Barfield.

Dr. Holloway offered excuses such as the district’s loss of 200 students which affects state funding. He also cited increased costs in fuel, food and labor as factors in the budget gap.

Ironically, the board sent an email to employees Thursday, prior to the board meeting that instructional teachers would get a raise for the 2026-2027 school year. This comes after the Mississippi Legislature passed a permanent $2,000 pay raise for public school teachers, assistant teachers, and university and community college instructors, but each district is allowed to determine who gets the increased raises.

The email which was sent to district principals and directors stated the following:

“At this time, the increase is being applied to classroom instructional positions. Other certified positions paid on the teacher salary scale, such as counselors, instructional coaches, interventionists, lead teachers, behavior specials, and similar roles, are not currently included in this implementation process.”

Vicksburg Daily News reached out the district for comment and did not receive a reply as of publication time.

While the district is giving raises to teachers, Dr. Holloway told the BOS that the district has taken measures to reduce the number of teachers while maintaining a balanced ratio of teachers to students.

During the school board meeting held Thursday evening it was reported that the districts revenue for April was $4,910,332 while the expenditures for the month were $5,840,943.

Board member Linda Patterson asked if the district was on budget with the expenditures.

Dr. Holloway replied to Patterson, “We are going to be very close. It depends on ad valorem collections.”

“Its one thing the tax revenue didn’t come in as we asked for it. That’s one issue,” said Board member Brian Pratt. “But we spent to that number and if the money came in as it should have, do we anticipate being close to that budget?”

Pratt was told as of now the school is nearly $2 million over budget, which differs from the $1 million quoted to the Supervisors, and gas prices accounted for a large portion of discrepancy.

The public budget hearing for the district will be held Tuesday, June 16, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the district office located at 1500 Mission 66.