Key Points:
• FCS Superintendent Mike Looney said the district’s financial house is in order, but up to $95 million needs to be cut from expenses.
• North Springs High student Treasure Omorodion shared lessons of a school district core value, integrity.
Fulton County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney said the school district needs to cut expenses by $95 million over the next four to five years or face financial ruin.
Looney gave his report during the annual FCS State of the Schools presentation held Oct. 27 at the Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center’s Byers Theatre. He said the school district’s financial house is in order, but it faces lower student enrollment, the increased cost of doing business, and an increasing amount of property tax revenue going to the state as its “Local Fair Share.”
“We have increased costs, lower revenue coming in, and if we didn’t do anything about it, if we just put our heads in the sand and ignored it, then, yes, we would be in financial ruin in four or five years,” Looney said.
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FCS Board of Education Chair Kristin McCabe told Rough Draft Atlanta that the school district’s local fair share has been designated as 5 mills worth of property taxes. That’s approximately $250 million going to support rural school districts. McCabe said the state calculates based on property tax assessments. The state doesn’t use homestead and other exemptions in making its calculations.
McCabe said the federal government promises to give FCS 40 percent of what it needs for special education funding, but it only provides 11 percent. The school district spends approximately $243 million from its general fund for special education.
Looney said the district manages its financial pressures using strategic budgeting in its GLIDE (Growth Opportunities, Lean Operations, Investment in Innovation, Diversify Revenue and Enhance Efficiency) program.
Looney said FCS will continue to support student achievement as it cuts expenses.
Chief Academic Officer Brannon Gaskins shared the system’s academic achievements. FCS had a 91.9 percent graduation rate last year. The 2012 graduate rate was 71.3 percent. The participation rate for the SAT and ACT increased, with average scores rising. Gaskins said the district also saw a 14.9 percent decrease in out-of-school suspesions.
Students joined FCS administrative staff and the 2025 Fulton County Schools Teacher of the Year, Natalie Meiguez, in making the State of the Schools presentation. Those students included Treasure Omorodion, a senior student at North Springs High School, who spoke about the core values of teamwork, integrity, and accountability.
Omorodion addressed integrity. She told the audience to ask themselves if they were being true to themselves and others who depend on them. She said maintaining integrity means acting according to their values.
Omorodion said an overlooked aspect of integrity is the powerful impact one person can make. She shared the story of a mission trip she made this summer with her church, Birmingham United Methodist, to Hazard, KY.
The group worked with the Appalachian Service Project to provide housing for people whose lives were deeply affected by natural disasters. The group slept on air mattresses in a middle school, had cold showers, and spent long hours at the work site.
On their last day, Omorodion met the future homeowner who shared the story of how the flood had taken her husband’s life, ruined their home, and forced the family to live in a cramped trailer. Her strength moved Omorodion.
“Earlier in that week, I had imagined a better environment, a brighter, renewed community, but that day, I imagined a better me. I worked harder than ever, not just to finish the house, but to restore hope where it had been lost,” Omorodion said. “I left Appalachia with a lesson that will stay with me forever – to be the change I want to see.”