Atlanta school board sets property tax rate, OKs partial rollback

The Atlanta Board of Education agreed to partially roll back the property tax rate, a move that amounts to a 5% increase because of rising property values.

The board voted Monday to set the millage rate at 20.5 mills, a decrease from the last fiscal year’s rate of 20.74 mills. But the new rate legally is considered a tax increase because the board did not drop it all the way to 19.522 mills, the level required to offset tax increases because of higher property valuations.

”A full roll-back would mean that we would need to cut our revenue projections by about $31 million,” the district states in a budget presentation.