County BOE to hold property tax rate

Published 8:09 pm Monday, August 24, 2009

The property tax rate for Whitfield County Schools is expected to stay the same as last year.

Board of Education members are scheduled to approve a rate of 14.756 mills at a Sept. 14 meeting at 7 p.m. at the central office at 1306 S. Thornton Ave.

Chief financial officer Kenny Sheppard said the school system will likely collect about $325,000 less in property taxes, bringing in $27.63 million. The weak economy and diminished property values are the main culprits.

“We already accounted for that,” superintendent Katie Brochu said. “We planned for that.”

Board member Jerry Nealey said that in past years, financial planners expected to collect more than 100 percent of projected local revenue because of back taxes coming in. This year, they’ve budgeted for just 96 percent.

“Our staying at this rate is a pretty good deal,” he said.

A mill is $1 of tax for each $1,000 of property value. If you own a $100,000 home, your school taxes will be about $590 this year, Brochu said.

The budget, which board members approved in May, is $107.9 million. The previous year’s budget was $108.8 million.

Area school systems have been paring budgets this year, but haven’t raised taxes. The tax rate for Dalton Public Schools, set to be approved on Sept. 14, is expected to stay at 7.845 mills. The rate for Murray County Schools remains at 15.5 mills.

Earlier in the year, Whitfield officials cut 34.5 teaching positions and 13 paraprofessional positions to save the system $2.4 million. Sheppard said the county saved 110 teaching positions by using $1.5 million from federal stimulus funds to avoid going up to the maximum class sizes allowed under state law.

The county school system’s maximum class sizes are slightly lower than the state’s, both of which vary by grade. Larger classes require fewer teachers on payroll.

Board members are also scheduled on Sept. 14 to approve a deal to bring sewer service by four existing county schools. The agreement with Dalton Utilities would commit the school system to $1.5 million for the $4.2 million project. That’s less than half as much as the school system initially agreed to pay to bring sewers past a new high school being built on Crow Road near Prater’s Mill.

The revised agreement skips building a wastewater treatment at Coahulla Creek and instead routes sewer lines from Tunnel Hill to include New Hope elementary and middle schools, North Whitfield Middle School, Varnell Elementary School and the site for the new high school.