Atlanta school board will set your tax rate tonight

Tonight the Atlanta school board is scheduled to approve the school district tax rate for the coming year.

The district had been delayed in setting its tax rate due to an error by Fulton County, which collects property taxes for the school district and other local governments.

Earlier this summer, Fulton County discovered an error in the way the county calculated property tax exemptions. Fixing the error has taken weeks, delaying the entire tax collection process for local agencies throughout Fulton County.

The Atlanta school district could have to spend more than $200,000 to borrow money to cover a cash flow gap caused by the delay.

The school board will consider tonight setting a tax rate of 21.74 mills, the same rate as last year. That includes 21.715 mills for maintenance and operations and .025 mills for debt service

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at 130 Trinity Ave. A 30-minute public comment period will be held at the beginning of the meeting. Anyone who wants to address the board must sign up in advance by calling (404) 802-2200 or (404) 802-2255.