Legislation targets DeKalb school funding
A proposal to cut DeKalb County school system funding by about $56 million a year was introduced Thursday in the Georgia General Assembly.
Rep. Tom Taylor said his legislation, House Bill 969, would reduce DeKalb school property tax revenue to the maximum allowed in most other county school systems in Georgia.
Georgia law sets a property tax limit of 20 mills on most school systems, but DeKalb has been allowed to go above that rate for more than 40 years because it previously operated a junior college in additional to elementary and high schools, Taylor said.
“They’ve been exceeding this (rate) since 1971 with less than stellar returns for the investment,” he said.
The legislation only applies to DeKalb, which has a tax rate for schools of 23.73 mills. The measure wouldn't affect city school systems like Atlanta Public Schools, which charges a 21.64 mill property tax rate rate.
The bill’s language calls for the state to reduce its share of education funding by the amount a county school system exceeds a 20 mill tax rate.
The legislation doesn’t reduce the property tax rate that DeKalb residents and businesses pay.
About the Author
Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.
