Forsyth County Schools hold third hearing on whether to opt out of state’s HB 581; no vote taken

Forsyth County School leaders and board members held a third required public hearing to consider whether to opt out of Georgia House Bill 581 and keep the county’s locally adopted House Bill 717, staff said.

School CFO Larry Hamill told the board that HB 717 — a locally developed floating homestead exemption that caps reassessment increases at 4% annually — gives the district more predictability for budgeting than the statewide HB 581, which ties homestead protections to an inflation measure set by the Georgia Department of Revenue and has no expiration date.

Hamill said, “Forsyth County Schools has and will continue to provide a senior school property tax exemption for homestead owners aged 65.” He added that the two exemptions are “very, very similar” in taxpayer benefit but that HB 581’s CPI link and permanence create uncertainty for planning.

Why it matters: The central choice before the board is between two homestead-exemption approaches that both limit big year‑to‑year swings in school tax bills but differ in how the cap is calculated and how long it lasts. Board members and staff emphasized that the senior (65+) full school tax abatement will not change regardless of the board’s choice, and…