TIFTON, Ga. — The Tift County Board of Education approved a tentative $69,062,546 budget for 2019-2020 at the May 14 meeting.

This budget is not the final version, said director of finance Klinton Guess. The final version is set to be approved at the June 11 meeting.

The current version shows a deficit of $238,215. Guess said that they are working on “tweaking” the budget and they should be able to bring the expenditures at or under revenues.

Some of the changes will be to the construction budget, said Guess. The school board has talked about several construction projects for the upcoming fiscal year, including an ag barn, upgrading the batting cages and updating the current pre-K building, located on 12th Street.

Guess said that overall the budget hasn’t changed much.

“Personnel is always going to be the biggest part of the budget,” he said.

The current version shows $48,540,310 being spent on classroom instruction.

This tentative budget includes a raise of $3,000 for certified staff and a two percent raise for bus drivers and school nutrition staff.

Guess said that the budget reflects a renewed push for online learning and upgrades in school security.

“Security has been a priority and we’re putting renewed emphasis on it,” Guess said. “The safety and security of students at Tift County schools is of the utmost importance.”