Clayton County board approves short‑term tax anticipation notes amid cash‑flow concerns

The Clayton County Board of Education voted to authorize the issuance of tax anticipation notes on Nov. 3, 2025, after board members heard from finance staff that timing required action before the board’s next regular meeting.

Board Chair Benjamin Straker called for an insertion to the business agenda to allow the finance department to move forward on a proposed TAN. A board member moved to "approve the superintendent’s recommendation to approve issuance of the tax anticipation note as proposed," and asked that the necessary TAN and PAID resolutions be adopted as written. Board attorney Clem Doyle and finance staff confirmed the procedural language to be added to the motion.

Finance staff told the board the request could not wait until the next meeting on Nov. 17 because cash flows discussed at the board retreat required funding by the end of the following week. "The reason why we wanted to add it to the agenda for tonight is because our next meeting is not until the seventeenth, and because of the cash flows that we discussed on Saturday, we would need to fund by the end of next week," a finance representative said.

After a short discussion about notice and timing, the board voted. The chair’s tally recorded six votes in favor, one no and one abstention. A board member asked that the adopted resolution be posted publicly; finance staff said they would post the resolution following the vote.

During debate, one board member explained the abstention, noting concerns about reserve levels and debt. The board member said the district previously maintained roughly 3.5 months of reserves and was down to about two months, and cited the district’s $1,200,000,000 budget. They also referenced two outstanding bonds (one listed as $280,000,000 and another stated in the record as "495") and noted the TAN would add another $40,000,000 to the district's short‑term obligations.

The board did not divulge bond counsel details or the TAN’s interest rate and repayment schedule during the meeting; finance staff committed to posting the full resolutions and supporting documents. The chair directed the finance office to make the TAN and related resolution text available to the public on the district’s posting channels.

The vote clears the way for the district to borrow short‑term against anticipated property tax receipts to meet near‑term cash needs, subject to the terms in the posted resolution.