Paulding County holds public hearing on proposed 2025 millage rate; board says rate will not increase

The Paulding County Board of Education held a public hearing on the proposed 2025 maintenance and operations (M&O) millage rate and the district’s fiscal 2026 budget, during which district staff said the board is tentatively proposing the same 17.675 mills used in 2024 and emphasized that the district is not raising the millage this year.

The hearing, one of three required under Georgia law before the board can finalize a millage rate and adopt the fiscal year 2026 budget, provided district staff an opportunity to explain how the advertised notice and the statutory “rollback” comparison can make the proposal appear as a tax increase even when the board proposes the prior year’s rate.

District financial staff gave the presentation and laid out the fiscal context: the proposed M&O millage rate of 17.675 is the same as in 2024; because the district funds bond debt service with the education special purpose local option sales tax (ESPLOST), the FY 2026 original budget does not include a bond millage rate. Amber Thesma, identified in the…