Forsyth County school board authorizes process to pursue opt‑out of statewide homestead cap

Forsyth County Board of Education members on Jan. 14 authorized staff to begin the formal process to seek a one‑time opt‑out from House Bill 581, the statewide homestead‑exemption cap, board members were told.

Superintendent (name not specified) told the board the action taken at the meeting was only authorization to proceed with the opt‑out process and not a final decision to opt out. "We are not going to ask you at the end of tonight to vote on opting out of anything," the superintendent said, describing the step as a procedural authorization to hold public hearings and complete required filings before a final board vote in February.

The board heard a presentation from Larry Hamill, Forsyth County Schools chief financial officer, who described differences between House Bill 717 — a locally developed 4% annual cap on reassessments that the county pursued and which takes effect…