Decatur School Board will discuss senior tax breaks during regular meeting
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FILE PHOTO USED FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES: The City Schools of Decatur Board of Education. Top row, left to right: former Superintendent David Dude and School Board Chair Lewis Jones. Bottom row, left to right: School board members James Herndon, Tasha White (Vice Chair), Heather Tell and Jana Johnson-Davis. Image obtained via City Schools of Decatur
Decatur, GA — During its Aug. 11 meeting, the City Schools of Decatur Board of Education will discuss the future of a tax break for Decatur’s seniors.
The regular monthly meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is open to the public. Any member of the public can join the meeting at the designated start time by clicking here or by dialing (646) 558-8656 and entering Meeting ID: 996 787 98321.
To see the full Aug. 11 meeting agenda, click here.
The City Schools of Decatur Homestead Exemption Committee is considering ways to revise the existing homestead exemption, set to expire in 2021. They were charged by the CSD School Board with preserving the intended purpose of keeping senior members of the community in their homes while minimizing the impact on the school budget.
Currently, the committee is considering raising the age limit for the existing exemption and creating an income-adjusted version for seniors 65-69.
The maximum cost of a senior exemption to the school system was predicted to be $1.2 million, based on an incorrect assumption about the number of homes that could be exempted and an 18.66 millage rate which was raised to 20.250 in 2019. The actual impact has been larger. In 2019 for instance, the School District reported that the senior homestead exemption cost the district $3.5 million. Herndon said the tax break cost the school district $5.7 million in 2020.
To learn more about the committee’s work, click here.
Writer Sara Amis contributed reporting to this article.
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