Catoosa County Schools Director of Finance Austin Carter told a community cohort meeting that the district’s recent increase in gross state allotments has been largely eaten by state-mandated health and other costs, leaving fewer flexible dollars for classroom needs even as local property values and ESPLOST revenue grow.

Carter told attendees the district “just completed our FY ’24 audit…no findings, no misstatements,” and then walked the group through how federal, state and local revenue streams interact under Georgia’s Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula. He said the district’s midterm FTE count was 9,890 and that the QBE midterm calculation produced an amount the state describes as needed for a basic education of $90,128,271; after the state’s local “fair share” adjustment the state-funded column on the allotment sheet was $77,044,108.

Why it matters: Carter said state-driven increases — chiefly the state health insurance contribution for school employees and other mandated supplements — have raised costs faster than the flexible revenue the district can spend on instruction. “Insurance for all staff costs on the employer side went from about $15,000,000 to about 29 and a half million dollars in just 4 years,” Carter said, describing the fiscal pressure on locally controlled funds.

The program picture: Carter reviewed federal and categorical funding the district receives: roughly $2.9 million in Title grants (Title I–IV) distributed by school poverty rank, about $2.9 million in IDEA funding for special education, and roughly $48,000–$49,000 for homeless student services. He said IDEA pays for paraprofessionals, therapists and preschool-disability services; Title funds support parent coordinators, academic coaches and interventions.

State versus local mechanics: Carter explained the QBE formula’s mechanics — FTE counts, weighted categories and “earned” positions — and showed how the state’s calculation also determines how many positions the state will fund (for example, the formula produced 724.95 “earned” teacher positions on the midterm allotment). He noted several gaps between state earnings and local practice: state categorical funding for transportation was a little over $2.3 million this year while the district projects total transportation costs closer to $6.8 million; nurses’ funding from the state was about $234,000 while the district’s actual cost to staff a nurse in every school exceeds $1 million.

Equalization and the local fair share: Carter described how rising local property values altered equalization payments and the state’s local fair share. He said the district received about $3.95 million in equalization funding this year and that the state withholds the local fair share (often called the “less local 5 mills” on allotment sheets). Carter showed the district’s tax digest growth (an increase in assessed value that moved the digest from roughly $1.6 billion several years ago to the $2.3 billion range in 2023 and a larger net digest after new growth and reassessments) and explained those increases raised the state’s expectation that local taxpayers contribute more.

Local revenues and ESPLOST: Carter and other leaders outlined local revenue sources. ESPLOST — the education special purpose local option sales tax — funds capital projects and bus and facility replacement and cannot be used for salaries, he said. At the meeting Carter explained the local sales-tax split as he described it for attendees: a seven-cent (7%) total sales tax in the county with roughly four cents going to the state, two cents to county LOST-type distributions and one cent to E‑SPLOST for education capital projects (as described during the presentation). Carter and maintenance manager Jake Haines said the district uses the ESPLOST review committee to prioritize roofs, HVAC and other large capital work so those costs do not come from the general fund.

Class sizes, positions and personnel moves: Carter described steps the district has taken to manage operating costs. He said the district eliminated roughly 70 positions through attrition during the last budget process, saving an estimated $4 million, and that about 20 additional positions were removed this cycle; those reductions were spread across instructional, paraprofessional and clerical roles. Carter said the district still must hire for retirements and normal turnover (the district typically hires about 100 teachers each summer). He also said the district is considering options — including third‑party outsourcing for some classified positions — to reduce the rate of employer benefit increases on locally paid staff.

Policy changes and unfunded mandates: Carter flagged the fiscal impact of recent state policy changes. He described House Bill 538 (an early literacy law referenced during the meeting) as requiring new reporting and materials; the district paid roughly $1 million to buy approved curricula and to create roles to manage the new requirements after the law was finalized. The group also discussed the state health contribution increases (Carter said the per‑employee employer cost rose from about $945/month several years ago to projected levels higher than $1,700–$1,800/month) and how some of that cost is funded by the state for instructional staff while classified staff costs fall largely to local funds.

Parent engagement, hygiene and school‑level funds: Community attendees raised school‑level concerns. A parent spoke about inconsistent outreach from a Title I parent‑involvement coordinator at one middle school; Carter and Gina (the director of federal programs) said they would check staffing and turnover at that school. Other attendees raised custodial and bathroom hygiene issues at Ringgold High; Carter acknowledged those operating costs are not covered by QBE and are paid with local funds or school‑level fundraisers.

Board action noted: Superintendent Nicks said the school board opted to adopt a statewide floating homestead exemption under House Bill 531 in Catoosa County; Carter described that exemption as a local decision the board took to limit surprises from rapid reassessments. The board also continues to set the millage rate; Carter said the district’s adopted millage was 14.87 this tax year and that Georgia law generally limits millage to a 14–20 range if a district wants to retain equalization funding.

Voices from the meeting: Superintendent Nicks, speaking about the county’s economic role, told attendees, “We are the economic development engine of Catoosa County, period.” Carter summarized the fiscal tradeoffs succinctly: rising local property values have increased local revenue capacity but “that increased revenue is largely offset by state‑mandated health and other costs,” leaving limited discretion for recurring operating needs.

What’s next: Carter and staff encouraged attendees to send follow‑up questions by email and noted the ESPLOST committee and district leadership will continue to prioritize capital projects to reduce pressure on the general fund. The district plans continued public engagement and said it will present details at school board meetings and to local school governance teams.

Ending: The presentation combined a technical walkthrough of allotment sheets with community Q&A and resulted in two clear takeaways for residents: state mandates and health benefit cost trends are the largest drivers of operating pressure, and ESPLOST/local revenue growth is useful for capital work but does not replace recurring operating dollars.