The proposed increase by the board of education was largely met with a yawn.
Community members have largely skipped the required public hearings, meaning the school board can continue the process with no further public input.
The three public meetings are required by law and even if no one shows up, board trustees must keep the floor open for 15 minutes before adjourning.
The final vote is set for Tuesday, Sep. 9, immediately after committee meetings that are scheduled for 4 p.m.
In a meeting on Aug. 12, members of the school board heard from CFO Bobby Smith, who proposed the board accept a .41 millage rate increase, which the board, minus one, accepted on the first reading.
District 5 Trustee Monique Braswell cast the no vote.
If accepted at the final reading, the hike will bring the millage rate to 18.74, which is almost an entire percent under the state cap of 19.55.
For the average homeowner, this translates to an increase of $2.56 per month in property taxes for a single family home appraised at $200,000.
Meanwhile, this will give the board an estimated $141,132,749 in local taxes collected over the year and when combined with the state funding, total revenues are expected to be $366,387,4836, which is still under the expected expenditures of $378,387,423. The school system will use $12 million in surplus funding held over from last year to fill the gap, leaving the system with $55,877.85 at the end of the fiscal year.
According to Smith, the school system was receiving a $450,000 cut in Quality Basic Education (QBE) funding for the next year and is also bound to accept unfunded mandates from the state, such as the retirement plan and health insurance coverage, both of which are increasing.
From here, the school board may decide to lower, roll back or leave in place the 2024 rate, but they cannot implement a further increase without starting the process all over from the beginning, which time will likely not permit.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter, editorialist and weekly columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
