A resolution to the dispute between the Atlanta Public Schools and the city of Atlanta over how to fund the Beltline could be near.
Atlanta paid the school district more than $9 million last week, a down payment of sorts on the millions it owes APS in connection with the greenspace project.
A spokeswoman for APS confirmed that the payment was received last week. The multi-million dollar check could signal that a final agreement restructuring past and future payments could be close.
“We are continuing to negotiate and iron out details on a new Beltline agreement,” Atlanta Public Schools board chairman Courtney English said Monday. “We are optimistic that we’ll be able to do that in the very near future. However, it’s important to remember that no deal is final until it has been approved by final vote of the Atlanta Board of Education.”
For nearly three years, Mayor Kasim Reed's administration and school officials have been at odds over a multi-million dollar contract that outlines the Beltline's funding model. Per a 2009 agreement that expires in 2030, the city receives a portion of the schools' property tax revenue for Beltline development. In exchange, it agreed to make $162 million in fixed annual payments from the Beltline tax allocation district, or TAD, to APS.
But, citing the effects of the economic downturn — which, for a time, devastated the Beltline’s growth — the city skipped the last two payments worth $13.5 million to APS. As of January 1, the city owed another $7.5 million.
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