Hall County Schools passes increased budget supported in part by more tax revenue

Ben Anderson, The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
·3 min read

Jul. 26—Hall County Schools adopted its final budget and a tax increase at Monday's school board meeting.

The school system lowered its millage rate July 25 to 15.99 for the 2022-23 fiscal year, down from 16.485 the year before. It is the lowest millage rate since 2005, but it is not a full rollback.

At that millage rate, the school system will take in $15.6 million more in tax revenue than it did last year, a 15.81% increase.

The school system's finance officer, Jonathan Boykin, said the tax digest is up 19% over last year. Property values have skyrocketed in Hall County in recent years.

In 2021, the average sales price of a home in the county was $417,000, up almost 22% from 2020. One mill is equal to $1 per $1,000 in assessed property value. In Hall, property is assessed at 40% of its value, so at 15.99 mills, that $417,000 home would produce a $2,667 tax bill.

Hall County Schools' budget has ballooned to $624 million this year, up from $589 million last year.

Overall expenditures are up 7.7%. Maintenance and transportation costs are up 16%, and the school system is forking over $14 million to boost employee salaries. Teachers are getting $3,000 raises including local and state money. Officials said about 90% of expenses go toward paying staff.

Several residents spoke during the public hearing, and they were not pleased about having to pay more in taxes.

"Our families in Hall County are going to have a very hard time making ends meet," Derek Moore said. "What we have to realize, too, is that everybody else's budget based on inflation is also going up."

Chuck Whitehead, who has a child in the school system, also objected to the increased taxes. He suggested the school board has been out of touch with the concerns of residents who have struggled during the pandemic, and he feels as though they have been making decisions from an "ivory tower."

Schofield said before the hearing, "The thing that we have missed is that in the state of Georgia, public schools are funded by a combination of state funding and by local funding. I have made the argument for the last 30 years that property tax is probably not a fair or the right way to fund local schools, but that is what we have. That's the only lever that we can pull."

School board member Mark Pettitt noted that the school system's millage rate is lower than many other comparable school systems in the state.

The school system is also taking $15 million from reserves.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that is unsustainable," Schofield said.

He recalled the 2008 recession when they had to lay off 128 teachers, saying he is worried another recession may be on the horizon.

"I won't be surprised if it comes again," he said.

The school system was originally scheduled to adopt the budget June 27 but delayed adoption after discovering that its public hearing advertisements in The Times were not large enough to meet the requirements set by state law.