SAVANNAH, Ga. () — According to state lawmakers, school taxes have soared by almost 90 percent over the past eight years, even though student enrollment has decreased by approximately 1,500 students.
Reps. Ron Stephens and Jesse Petrea said taxes collected for the Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) have climbed from about $253M in 2019 to a projected $440M in 2026.
“You’ve got exponential increases, 111% in seven years for general administrative costs in the Chatham County school system,” Petrea said.
Supporters of the Chatham County Schools Tax Relief act, which passed the state legislature earlier this year, said it’s time for a change.
“I am in support of this because I find that it adds predictability without shortchanging children or education at all,” Stephanie Campbell, who represents District 7 with SCCPSS board said.
Campbell said the spending is not wasteful but reflects higher expectations placed on schools.
“Kids do cost more to educate these days,” she said. “We’re expected in the public school system to do a lot of things that otherwise we wouldn’t have done before, that was just simple education, like reading, writing, math.”
If voters approve of the measure in November, it would create what’s called a “floating” homestead exemption. That means school taxes would be capped at a home’s base year value.
“We in the legislature have no intention of doing anything to decrease funding to schools,” Petrea said.
“Just like before, schools will continue to receive 100% of the revenue from the previous year without losing one penny,” Stephens said.
