The DeKalb County Board of Education slightly reduced the tax rate for the second year in a row at a meeting on Monday. The board also approved the more than $2 billion budget, which includes $60 million in raises and $27 million in bonuses for employees.
Board members reiterated their interest in lowering the millage rate — which is one of the highest in the state and in the metro Atlanta area — gradually over a period of time.
“Our superintendent (Devon Horton) has told us that we will be able to have conversations about a bigger rollback next year,” board member Allyson Gevertz said.
But board members Anna Hill and Joyce Morley were interested in a much larger rate reduction. Hill suggested at an earlier meeting lowering the rate and reducing the district’s revenue by $69 million. Morley has long wanted to see the district reduce its spending.
“There’s so much going on, and as a taxpayer, we are not seeing the results,” she said Monday.
The budget and millage rate were approved in a 6-1 vote. Only Morley opposed them.
The tax rate was set at 22.88 mills, or $22.88 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is a $0.10 reduction from last year’s rate. Last year, the district brought in roughly $900 million from property taxes; with this year’s reduced rate, it will still bring in roughly $970 million because of rising property values.
Last year, the DeKalb school system’s millage rate was the second-highest in the state, behind only the Muscogee County School District, according to state data. It also had the highest rate among metro Atlanta districts.
Georgia law sets a property tax limit of 20 mills on most school systems in the state, but DeKalb has been allowed to exceed that rate since the 1970s. Officials believe it’s because the county school system previously managed a junior college in addition to elementary and high schools.
The 2024-2025 budget includes $60 million in raises for employees, after the district conducted a compensation and classification study to evaluate salaries. Teachers will see an average salary increase of 6.1%, depending on the specific role and experience, and employees across the board will see at least 3.6%. The budget year starts July 1.
Ongoing efforts like one-on-one mentoring at high-needs schools, the IGNITE teacher residency program to train new teachers and the implementation of a new software system to handle human resources and financial information are all funded in the budget. This year, the district will also use $6.6 million in grant funding to add a security associate at elementary schools.
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