Atlanta, Decatur schools owed millions in sales tax funds after paperwork error

The DeKalb County School District owes an estimated $10 million to Atlanta Public Schools and City Schools of Decatur, thanks to an error in how the state has been distributing sales tax revenue.

“We don’t know exactly how much we owe,” DeKalb County School Board Chair Allyson Gevertz said at a public meeting this week, although she later estimated the amount to be between $10 million and $13 million.

A spokesperson for DeKalb schools said the district is working with the state to calculate the exact amount owed.

DeKalb County has been collecting more than its fair share of sales tax funding, while APS and Decatur schools were getting less than they were owed, according to a statement from the district.

DeKalb County voters have renewed a 1% sales tax for education every five years since 1997, known as an ESPLOST. The money can be used for construction projects and technology purchases.

But because DeKalb County contains schools that are part of three different systems, the funding is distributed based on the number of students that attend each. The state uses a form called a Certificate of Distribution to know the breakdown.

The distributions since 2022 “were not reflective of the approved percentages,” DeKalb County said in a statement first reported by Decaturish.com. The district then shared the correct certificate with the state, which will drive distributions through June 2027.

A DeKalb schools spokesperson did not answer directly when asked via email by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution whether the district submitted the Certificate of Distribution to the state in 2022, when it was approved.

“We found that all three Boards approved the certificates,” DeKalb schools spokesperson Jennifer Caracciolo said.

State records show that the DeKalb County School District has been collecting 91.79% of the most recent sales tax for education. But the three school systems approved a different split in 2022: DeKalb should have only been receiving 90.44%.

A 1.35% difference may seem negligible, but the sales tax has brought in more than $650 million in the last five years — a differential of at least $8.7 million.

City Schools of Decatur has been receiving 4.44% of the distributions, but should have been getting 5.45%, according to the certificate. And Atlanta Public Schools has been getting 3.77%, but should have been at 4.11%, the document shows.

DeKalb Interim Superintendent Norman Sauce said in a statement that the district took “immediate action” when it identified the issue. A district spokesperson told the AJC that Decatur schools officials first contacted DeKalb about the issue.

“We are committed to working collaboratively with our educational partners and the Georgia Department of Revenue to resolve this matter responsibly, ensure accurate accounting of all funds, and strengthen our processes moving forward,” Sauce’s statement says. “Our focus remains on being transparent, accountable and faithful stewards of taxpayer resources.”

In similar statements, superintendents in both APS and Decatur schools thanked the county district for its “prompt” response.

The DeKalb School Board is expected to discuss the issue at its July meeting.

APS is owed $2 million, Board of Education Chair Jessica Johnson told the AJC.

The AJC contacted the Georgia Department of Revenue to ask how the payments could be incorrect and whether it is investigating the situation, but did not get an immediate response.

State records show that between July 1, 2022 and May 31, 2026, the DeKalb County School District collected $602 million in sales tax funding; APS collected $24 million; and CSD collected $27.5 million.