The Atlanta Board of Education voted Aug. 14 to keep the district’s millage rate for this school year at 20.5.
According to a report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the move to keep the millage rate, or tax rate, the same equals a 9.14% tax increase for homeowners due to increasing property values, as noted in a press release from Atlanta Public Schools.
The school district has a $1.66 billion budget for the 2023-24 school year.
The millage rate is the amount of taxes paid per $1,000 of a property’s value. APS officials said a $325,000 house with a homestead exemption would see a tax increase of $137, according to the AJC.
A full roll back of the millage rate would cut more than $30 million from this fiscal year’s budget, the AJC reported. The rollback rate is 18.784 mills.
Some board members raised concerns the tax increase would strain the budgets of vulnerable populations, such as elderly homeowners. Chief Financial Officer Lisa Bracken said several exemptions are available to residents. Bracken also said APS would work with legislators to provide relief for property owners who may not be able to pay the tax increase.
The AJC reported five of nine school board members attended the Aug. 14 meeting. Those who attended — Chairperson Eshé Collins, Tamara Jones, Cynthia Briscoe Brown, Jessica Johnson and Erika Mitchell – all voted for the proposal.
Board members not attending the meeting were Katie Howard, Michelle Olympiadis, Jennifer McDonald and Vice Chairperson Aretta Baldon.
