Senior School Tax Exemptions: Will they ever happen?

A question I receive weekly from Senior Citizens is, “Why do I have to pay school taxes?”

It really is a great question that sounds like an open-and-shut case. Some folks even make it a moral issue, “How dare you make Seniors pay a school tax!” But it just isn’t that simple and clean. That’s the hard part in answering the question. But I wanted to provide this update today to try and give some clarity around “why” and a peek into “what” we are doing to try and help.

First, no one “likes” paying taxes. However, we all understand the need to fund our local schools. We understand that it costs A TON of money to pay our teachers, bus drivers, custodians, administrators, specialists, paraprofessionals, nutrition team, central support, and on and on. And those are just the salaries; we also have maintenance and upkeep of a bus fleet and school & athletic facilities, curriculum costs, technology, fuel, etc. Educating nearly 20,000 Newton County kids is an expensive endeavor. So, most days, when property values are steady, the tax burden isn’t too bad, and everyone pulls their weight. (I realize this is debatable. And there are other avenues the Board of Education can take to help minimize the tax burden on our citizens, such as, keeping expenses as low as possible and maintaining a healthy, non-inflated, millage rate. Read more about my thoughts on the school system operating budget and lowering the millage rate.)

However, when property values spike (like they have the last few years), the segment of our population hit hardest are the Senior Citizens, particularly those on a fixed income. In theory, when property values increase, it is a good thing for the property owner. They could sell their property for more money than in previous years. And most working-age citizens might see an increase in their pay when the economy is on an uptick, or be in a stage of life where selling their property for the increased value is attractive. Therefore, things might even out for the working-age citizen. But most Senior Citizens are not working, and most are not in a stage of life to consider selling their property. Along with being content to keep their property, many are on a fixed income. Thus, when property values go up, their taxes go up, BUT THEIR INCOME DOES NOT INCREASE. So, property value spikes truly hurt our Senior Citizens on fixed incomes.

Obviously, we want to help these Senior Citizens AND provide a quality education for the next generation. (More on that process below.)

There are some complications to consider when discussing a full tax exemption for Senior Citizens.

• First, any exemptions given to any segment of the community means a loss of revenue. In order to consider that loss of revenue, we need to know how much the school system would be losing. With over 88% of the total expense budget being salaries alone, we MUST be careful when contemplating anything that might endanger those dollars used for paying our teachers and aforementioned staff.

• Also, if a tax exemption is given to one group, another group might see a slight increase to make up the difference so that we are able to retain our teachers and staff and provide a quality education for our kids. So, it is possible that a tax exemption for one might be a tax increase for another.

• Another factor to consider is economic development. I know this one sounds a little crazy, but hear me out. When companies are considering relocating or building new facilities in a community, they always ALWAYS look to see how the public schools are performing. This is a key indicator for their potential work-base AND a draw (or deterrent) for their current employees. Professionals moving into the area want to know their kids will get a good education. And if companies see the community investing LESS money in the local school system, indicating a lower community priority on education, they might be reluctant to move their business to Newton County. Thus affecting our ability to continue and attract great companies that provide jobs and help our local economy.

These are real issues to consider, and I don’t want us to enter into ANY tax exemption conversations without first looking at all of the potential consequences. Even so, I personally believe we can overcome these issues and create a solution that works for our entire community: working-age property owners, the economic development situation, AND our Senior Citizens.

So, what are we doing right now to help?

The first thing we have done is the Board of Education lowered the millage rate (the rate on which your property is taxed.) By lowering the millage rate, the Board effectively lowered the taxes you pay.

The Board also scrutinized the proposed FY23 expense budget. The Superintendent did her best to keep the costs as low as possible for 2023. I believe we could’ve done better, but I can assure you, we looked at each expense line thoroughly. So, we eliminated any excess spending (although there was very little of that found.)

And now, we are considering some type of school tax exemption for Senior Citizens! That’s right, we are looking at the data and trying to come up with the right solution for right now. Unfortunately, making this kind of change is not quick and some parts are out of our hands (the BOE). Exempting a segment of the population from paying a school tax must be voted and approved by the citizens of Newton County. And in order for a vote to happen, a referendum would need to make it onto the ballot. And in order for a referendum to be created, it must go before the State Legislature……

UGH.

So, it is a process.

Here is exactly what we have done, and what we are planning:

• The Superintendent hosted a preliminary meeting with the Newton County Tax Assessor and Tax Commissioner.

• It was determined that the information needed to make an informed recommendation to the members of the Board of Education was not readily available.

  • The census data is not granular enough currently.

  • The Superintendent reached out to Newton County GIS (Geographic Information Systems) team to determine if additional demographic information was available to assist with determining age distribution: Information was not available.

• BOE partnered with Education Planners (consultant) to gather information relative to the impact of increased senior citizen exemptions.

• The Superintendent met with Tax Assessor who agreed to create/ provide a database to Education Planners.

• The team is now developing scenarios using available data for the Board’s consideration (Target month: November 2022)

• The Board would then consider the recommendations and potentially approve one of the models presented. (Target month: December 2022)

• The Board would provide the approved model to our legislative delegation which they will take through the legislative process at the Gold Dome in Atlanta. (Target months: January-February 2023)

• Once legislatively approved, exemption language will be added to the ballot for voter approval.

• Newton County voters must approve the new exemption language. (November election 2023)

• THEN, if all of those boxes are ticked, the exemption would be realized beginning January 2024.

I wish the process had been started years ago, but it is never too late to do the right thing. We just want to make sure that we do the right thing for all of the citizens of Newton County while continuing to provide a high quality education for our children, the next generation of Newton County leaders!

There’s work left to be done!
Let’s do it!

I’d love to hear from you about this update.
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And if you’re just looking for some good news, make sure to check out the post from earlier in the week: Fall Break: a good time for some good news.