Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gadsden school leaders urge voters to renew property tax millage on May 20 special election
Summary
Board of Education chair and school officials told the Gadsden City Council that a 20-year renewal of an existing property tax millage is the only item on a May 20 special ballot and is not a new tax.
Gadsden school leaders and the mayor urged residents on Tuesday to vote to renew a property tax millage that funds the Gadsden City School System, saying the ballot measure is a 20-year reaffirmation of existing funding rather than a new tax.
Judge Alan Milliken, chairman of the Etowah County Board of Education, told the council that the measure on the May 20 special election affects how the school system gets local general‑fund revenue from property taxes and that much state and federal funding is already earmarked. “It’s not a new tax. It’s just a reaffirmation or a renewal of the old tax that’s there,” Milliken said.
The nut graff: The renewal would preserve locally controlled general‑fund dollars used for items the district says are not always covered by state or federal allocations — local teachers, nurses, maintenance, substitute teachers, extracurriculars, technology and facilities improvements. Milliken said those dollars are used alongside city contributions to support local programs.
Council members and Superintendent Keith Blackwell described the renewal as routine and essential. Milliken said the millage is on a 20‑year renewal cycle and called on residents to vote: “This is the only thing that’s on this ballot.” He added that the county school system and some other local systems are included in the same referendum.
Milliken and other speakers framed the renewal as maintaining revenue used to recruit industry and sustain visible facilities and programs the city highlights when courting employers. The speakers repeatedly said the vote would not raise taxes but would continue the allocation that has funded major projects in past decades.
The council did not take formal action on the measure; Milliken presented information and urged civic turnout. No ordinance or resolution related to the millage was passed at this meeting.
Looking ahead, Milliken asked council members and residents to encourage turnout on May 20 so the district’s current millage arrangement can continue to fund the general‑purpose needs he described.
