More than 60% of voters in Clarke County said yes last fall to Georgia’s new floating homestead exemption, but the Clarke County School Board apparently plans to disregard the voters’ wishes.
On the matter of the floating homestead exemption, the school district plans to opt out.
This is per the wording on the school district’s website.
Read it carefully, and you might notice a glaring contradiction. Voters who showed up for the second of three legally required public hearings on the matter noticed it too.
“The Clarke County Board of Education intends to opt out of the statewide adjusted base year ad valorem homestead exemption for the Clarke County School District,” according to the website.
“The purpose of these hearings is to gather public input on the question. Those who wish to make public comments during a hearing may sign up in person before the hearing begins. The board’s vote is not predetermined, and all public input will be carefully considered.”
When it was her time to speak during the meeting’s public comment portion, Athens resident Rita Raines said the school district’s messaging left her bewildered.
“I was very confused about the announcements on the website that said ‘the district intends to opt out’ as well as ‘the board’s vote is not predetermined’” Raines said.
“These things do not mean the same thing.”
A few of the Clarke County residents who attended the meeting said they were also confused about how the school district communicates with the public on this matter. Other members of the public said they were aggravated.
Last year, members of the Georgia General Assembly created a statewide homestead exemption that limits how much a homeowner’s property tax bill increases when home values rise. Per the law, which many people refer to as Georgia House Bill (HB) 581, local governments, including school districts, can opt out.
About 40 Clarke County residents attended the second public hearing, and 15 of them spoke. Ten of the speakers, Raines included, asked board members not to opt out.
“We as community members need to have a clue what we can expect, especially when it comes to personal finance,” Raines said.
“We cannot plan on how to work within our budgets if the increase in property tax is completely out of the range of what is seen as reasonable.”
Compared to many other people who came out to publicly support HB 581, Raines stood out in one important respect. She said that opting out — as the school district suggests board members will do — is “counterintuitive to my own best interests.”
Raines said she has worked as a special education paraprofessional since 2008. Her employer: the Clarke County School District.
“[The tax revenue] pays my salary,” Raines said.
“I do not necessarily view this as counterproductive, as my future objective is living independently in this area. I don’t want to be an old lady retiree from the state, in this district, who [because of financial conditions] is placing ads for multiple complete strangers [as] roommates.
The General Assembly last year passed HR 1022 to allow Georgians to vote on HB 581 through a local referendum.
Other speakers said that 61.4% of Clarke County voters said yes to the homestead exemption. The statewide average was 62.9%.
Athens resident Joan Rhoden said she came to speak on behalf of hundreds of people who “don’t know that they are about to get the bad apple.”
Rhoden said school board members who opt out are “attempting to override the will of the people” and “render them a huge punch in the gut.” She said taxpayers are not getting their money’s worth out of the school system and that “school choice and school vouchers are looking better by the minute.”
“Don’t you understand the meaning of no? When $19,000 a year for a student is not enough, and that is approximately $2,000 a month, parents have to ask themselves how much more they are willing to ask us to cough up,” Rhoden said.
“The heavy hand of the educational bureaucracy has had its chance, and the pendulum has swung to a maximum displacement of its way. We cannot unsee what we see, no matter the sleight of hand.”
During the meeting, Board Vice President Mark Evans said he was “really confused by the law,” even after talking about it with other people.
“I am really trying to understand what our goal is because it really seems like things are stacked against our taxpayers a bit,” Evans said.
“Are we making our lives harder with opting out versus opting in?”
Gordon Rhoden, who is married to Joan Rhoden, said he’s attended many county commission and school board meetings.
“Tonight was the first time I have ever heard a commissioner or a board member say ‘I am confused on this issue,’” Gordon Rhoden said.
“I think we are all confused. Spend more time listening to your constituents and to the people willing to come out to the board meetings.”
Athens resident Steve Middlebrooks, meanwhile, pointed out that four of the nine board members didn’t even attend the meeting — and thus weren’t able to hear the public’s perspective.
“I had lunch with Speaker of the House Jon Burns who made an interesting comment when we were talking about school boards. He made the statement, unsolicited, that the public school boards in Georgia have more excess and surplus funds than the entire state of Georgia,” Middlebrooks said.
“That struck me between the eyes. When I investigated the role of the local school board, the first sentence [I read] was profound and accurate and it said ‘the local school boards are guardians and stewards of public trust.’ And what powers do local school boards have? Understandably you have much power, but community members can bring their concerns, even to propose policies to the school board and superintendent. I do wish you would follow the will of your constituents.”
Clarke County School District Chief Financial Officer Chris Griner said property taxes account for roughly 57% of the school district’s general fund revenue.
People who have been paying property taxes the past few years have seen their tax bills continue to rise, largely due to soaring property assessments.
Clarke County School Board members are scheduled to vote on the matter at their regular meeting on Feb. 13.
