School taxes: Cobb County keeps millage rate same

Cobb County’s school board unanimously approved today the same millage rate it has had for the past nine years, 18.9.

Though that tax rate remains the same, homeowners’ tax bills could be more, depending on how much the assessed value of their homes rose. One mill is equivalent to $1 in taxes per $1,000 in a property’s taxable value.

The county’s tax digest, the overall assessed value of property, increased 6 percent. That was exactly the increase the school system had forecast, school district chief financial officer Brad Johnson told the board in three public hearings before Wednesday’s final adoption of the unchanged rate.

Three county residents spoke at one of those public hearings, and there were no public comments at the other two. Two of the speakers asked the board to consider lowering the rate in light of the additional revenue the tax-digest growth will bring to the school district, and one also mentioned additional revenue county commissioners have projected as a a result of the new Braves baseball stadium being built in the county.

School board member David Banks also suggested lowering the rate in light of the revenue expected. No other members supported his call to set the rate a tenth of a mill lower, at 18.8, however, and Banks voted with the rest of the members to adopt the 18.9 rate.

Georgia student going to court after being expelled for warning of threat

The middle school student was expelled after he sent messages to friends about a video he'd seen with someone threatening to shoot up area schools.

School starts in about a month in metro Atlanta. Check the dates here.

Most students in metro Atlanta will start school the first week of August, while others go back in July. Some school districts are already preparing for the return.