Increases proposed by the Mathews County School Board in its 2017-2018 budget would translate into about a 7 cent hike on the county’s real estate tax rate, county administrator Mindy Conner said Tuesday night.

Conner made that comment during Tuesday night’s joint supervisors/school board dinner meeting at Thomas Hunter Middle School, which was the first opportunity for supervisors to get an in-depth look at what is now the fourth draft of the school board’s $14.17 million proposed budget.

The school board’s proposal calls for the county to contribute $8,131,584 next year, an increase of $679,951 from the $7.45 million county share in the current budget.

Supervisors’ chairman Jack White said that when he first ran for office nearly four years ago, he predicted a fiscal crisis in the county. On the heels of a reassessment that has seen property values drop around 4 percent, or $67 million, “this is what we’re facing right now,” he said....