Resident urges board to honor HB 581 vote; district says it will remain in law and shifts budget calendar

A resident urged the Catoosa County Board of Education on Jan. 7 to follow voters' approval of House Bill 581, which creates a floating homestead exemption tied to the Consumer Price Index. The board said it will remain under HB 581, and district staff told members the law requires an earlier timeline for budget projections.

Debbie Waltman, a Catoosa County resident, told the board that approximately 70–74% of county voters supported opting into HB 581 in November and urged the board to "follow the will of the people" by remaining in the program. "Property taxes are an immense burden on many of the residents of Catoosa County," Waltman said, asking the board to provide relief by staying in the measure.

A board member responded that the district is "automatically in" HB 581 and that the board has "no intentions of taking any further action," as recorded in the meeting.

District staff later presented the fiscal-year budget calendar and said House Bill 581 changes the timeline for setting and publishing the district's estimated rollback millage rate. Under the change, staff said they must determine an estimated rollback millage rate and provide it to the county for publication in April 2025; to produce an accurate estimate, the district must finalize key projections of personnel allotments and departmental costs by the end of March. Staff described the practical effect as shifting much of the budget-projection work into the February–March window so the April publication requirement can be met before the county's usual tax digest figures arrive in late June or early July.

Board members did not record a formal vote on HB 581 during the meeting; the record shows the board intends to remain subject to the law and that staff will move budget-projection deadlines earlier to comply with HB 581.