Carroll County board holds final public hearing on HB 581 homestead exemption, schedules special meeting to vote

The Carroll County Board of Education held its third and final public hearing on House Bill 581 on the evening of the hearing to review how the new statewide homestead exemption could affect local school funding. Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Deline Wolf told the audience the new exemption — referred to in state law as the statewide adjusted base year ad valorem homestead exemption (HB 581) — would “stack on top of the current exemptions” and that the board has one opportunity to opt out.

The hearing matters because, Wolf said, the exemption would be controlled by the state and could reduce state funding for schools as local fair values rise; under one five‑year model provided to Georgia districts, she said the aggregate impact could be about $21,000,000 (which she said would equate to “over 200 teaching positions”) and an average of roughly $4,000,000 per year if it had been in effect over the prior five years. Wolf added that current rules cap districts’ millage rates and that ESPLOST (the Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) funds cannot be used for general…