
Henry County Schools will have the first two millage rate hearings on Monday, July 15, 2024. Ahead of their upcoming meetings, they have made available their millage rate presentation.
Henry County Schools is proposing to lower their overall millage rate. They propose to reduce the bonds millage rate from 3.628 mills to 2.000 mills.
Henry County Schools Millage Rate 2024
The Henry County Schools Millage Rate is comprised of two parts:
- maintenance & operations (M&O), and
- bond debt.
The district levies 20 mills for operations, a rate unchanged since 2007. HCS proposes to maintain this millage rate for 2024. The 20-mill tax is estimated to collect $251 million for the 2024–25 school year. This is an increase of $10.3 million over last year. The 2025 budget has funding for new positions — 41 new teachers for example — and salary increases. Several position groups saw a salary increase in the budget.
Did You Know?
Henry County Schools employs over 3,600 teachers; however, state funding only supports 2,841 positions. Local tax revenues pay to employ the other 836 teachers.
The second part of the rate, bond debt, is where property owners could see some savings this year. The district levied 3.628 mills for bond debt in 2023. Now, they are proposing to reduce this rate to 2.000 mills. The district is able to lower this rate based on growth in the tax digest, while still collecting sufficient revenue to pay their annual debt service. The bond debt is from capital projects, chiefly the cost to build new schools.
How does this affect homeowners?
A property owner should see a net reduction in their school board property taxes, based on the proposed millage rates; however, each individual’s circumstance will be different depending on their property value. Property owners who saw their appraised values increase by more than $25–30 thousand year-over-year are likely to still see a tax increase.
Any homestead exemptions can also affect this calculation. The school board offers a $4,000 homestead for all homeowners — worth $80 in tax savings — and greater exemptions for seniors. The senior exemptions begin at age 62 and increase again at ages 65 and 68. Seniors age 70 or older receive a complete exemption from school board taxes.
The school board will consider adopting their millage rate on July 22 later this month. More information about the upcoming public hearings, and how to participate, is below.
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Public Hearings
The school board will hold public hearings on Monday, July 15, at 9 am; Monday, July 15, at 6:30 pm; and Monday, July 22, at 4:30 pm. Their board meetings take place at the district office on Zack Hinton Pkwy in downtown McDonough.
The school district’s July board meeting is also happening on Monday, July 15. The study session begins at 4 pm, and the business session is at 7 pm for anyone interested in attending.
The board’s agenda is available to view on their meetings website. The school district typically uploads presentations made during the meeting in the couple days afterwards.
County & City Property Taxes
Henry County Schools receives about 60% of property tax revenue. The county government and several cities also collect property taxes. They too will be hosting millage rate hearings in the upcoming weeks. Check out our article here to learn more.
Featured image shows the school district office. Henry County Schools photo.
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