The Demopolis City Schools announced during their board meeting Monday that they would be paying back the city of Demopolis a total of $409,000 after an error that sent the city’s portion of millage and property tax to the school system.

Superintendent Dr. Al Griffin said the same thing happened last year, and it was not a completely unexpected expense.

“When we saw the amount, we figured the same thing happened again this year,” Griffin said. “It was an amount of money that we were never supposed to have in the first place. The entire allocation was sent to us, so we’re making sure the city gets their portion.”

The school system still gets to keep $604,000 from the 10-mill tax.

“I want to thank the property owners and the citizens of Demopolis for continuing to support this system,” he said. “This money goes to the betterment of our schools so we can properly educate our children.”

Griffin added that the money they received from the taxes is what has allowed them to do system-wide technology upgrades this year.

The system still has $2.7 million in the general fund after sending the money back to the city.

Also during Monday’s meeting, the board approved a partnership with Robertson Banking Company for a business credit card. The system will receive 1 percent of the total spent on the card after each year.

“We will utilize the card to make purchases such as reserving rooms and buying materials and supplies,” Griffin said. “There is no fee for having the card, and we will get back 1 percent of what we spend on it.”

The board also approved the retirement of Mary Sewell, who is a special education teacher at U.S. Jones Elementary School. She has taught in the system for 32 years.

Griffin also said the schools will not have to make up the three days missed in January due to severe weather because Gov. Robert Bentley declared a state of emergency during those days.