DALTON, GA - The Dalton Board of Education has tentatively approved an increase in the operating millage rate from 8.00 mills to 9.15 mills for fiscal year (FY) 2025. In previous years, the Board was able to reduce the millage rate annually. However, due to current financial circumstances, the Board recommends an increase to 9.15 mills to support the operational needs of the district.
The FY 2025 General Fund budget places a strategic emphasis on literacy improvement which aligns to our current strategic plan. Goal 1 of our strategic plan focuses on the Dalton Reads Initiative which strives to improve literacy rates for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. As part of this focus, the district has added literacy interventionist positions at both the elementary and middle school levels, as well as created a new Director of District Literacy role to support the implementation of state-mandated literacy instructional practices. Goal 2 of our strategic plan also focuses on teacher recruitment and retention. The FY 2025 budget also included a modest pay raise for our teachers which allows DPS to compete with neighboring districts.
Additionally, the district continues to face rising employer contributions for employee health insurance. In FY 2023, Georgia school districts experienced a 67% increase in employer contributions for health insurance covering teachers and certified personnel. Although the district receives state funding to offset some of these costs, the increase has not been fully covered. For non-certified personnel, health insurance contribution increases will be phased in over three years. In FY 2025, the district anticipates an additional $2.3 million in health insurance costs for non-certified employees that will not be covered by state funding, alongside an 11% increase in health insurance contributions for certified staff.
In recent years, taxable property values within Whitfield County were assessed below their true market value. The Whitfield County Appraisal Office has been addressing these discrepancies, but the temporary tax digest still does not reflect the true property values. Initially, a 22% increase in property values was projected for FY 2025, but the Board of Assessors later lowered this estimate to 19%. After issuing an initial tax digest which contained inaccurate values, the tax commissioner refused to sign the tax digest. After two court hearings, a judge ruled in favor of a temporary tax digest based off the 2023 digest plus 10%. This temporary digest will create a shortfall for the school district.
The Board has adopted a General Fund budget of $114 million for FY 2025, with planned expenditures exceeding expected revenues by $5 million. The budget was initially based on a 19% increase in local property values, which would have generated an additional $6 million in property taxes. However, due to the temporary net tax digest of 3.3%, the district now faces a projected shortfall of $5 million in local revenue. To address this gap, the Board is considering a 1.15 mill increase to the millage rate to generate the budgeted local tax revenue.
The board is reviewing potential measures to reduce budgeted expenditures in the range of $750,000 – 1 million dollars and considering using additional fund reserves. Even with these adjustments, local tax revenues may fall short by $500,000 to $1 million compared to projections in the FY 2025 budget, approved in June of 2024, if a lower millage rate is adopted.
Despite these financial challenges, property owners within the City of Dalton will benefit from a reduction in the debt service millage rate, which will decrease from 0.46 mills to 0.42 mills. This reduction is tied to the General Obligation Bond approved by voters in 2017, which funded the construction of Hammond Creek Middle School.
While the Dalton Board of Education proposes an increase in the operating millage rate, the adjustment is necessary to ensure continued support for critical educational initiatives, fiscal stability, and the overall success of Dalton Public Schools.
Learn more on our dedicated millage webpage.
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