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APS district advocates warn property-tax rollback could shift school funding to sales taxes, urge vigilance on literacy and safety bills
Summary
At a District 3 community meeting, Erica Long and APS stakeholders outlined legislative developments: a House plan to phase out homestead property taxes (which would require a constitutional referendum), a push to fund K–3 literacy coaches, and proposals to require weapons-detection systems — all with potential budget implications for Atlanta Public Schools.
Erica Long, who is working with the district on legislative priorities, told attendees at the Atlanta Public Schools District 3 meeting that state lawmakers are considering several measures that could materially affect local school budgets.
Long said the House has passed an early-literacy bill that would "fund a literacy coach in every school that has grades K through three," a change district leaders view as potentially helpful but still contingent on final budget and implementation details. She added that while early-literacy funding is a priority among House leadership, "nothing is set in stone until the bill is passed, signed into law by the governor, [and] effective dates are set."
The meeting's central funding concern focused on a House proposal to phase out homestead property taxes between now and 2032. Long explained that the draft would eliminate property taxes on owner-occupied homes while leaving commercial property taxes intact and rely on sales-tax receipts to replace revenue. "What that means is that for your home, for your residents, you would not pay property taxes," Long said, while warning that shifting to sales tax could reduce revenue stability and increase burdens on lower-income families because sales taxes are less predictable and more regressive than property taxes.
When attendees asked whether such a change would require voter approval, Long answered that it would: "There is the referendum requirement. It does require a constitutional vote," and she noted the bill also needs a supermajority in the legislature before going to voters.
Long also described bills focused on numeracy — including a "Math Matters" style proposal and measures to expand access to advanced mathematics in middle grades — which could create state supports for curricula and standards. She said school-safety proposals are also moving in the House, including text that would require "some type of weapons detection" at every school's main entry; Long cautioned that an approximately $60,000-per-school grant discussed on the House floor would not cover all required equipment or deployment costs and warned against creating unfunded mandates.
District leaders at the meeting encouraged families and community members to engage with their state legislators as bills approach crossover and to watch details that determine whether state funding replaces, supplements or shifts district obligations. Attendees repeatedly asked for follow-up on how any new state funding would map to APS pay schedules or district supplements; district staff committed to sharing more specific budget and accounting information once bills and allocations are finalized.
Next steps: district staff will follow up with additional details on proposed literacy funding and school-safety grant accounting as the legislative session proceeds; the shape of any property-tax change depends on floor votes, possible supermajority negotiation, and (if approved) a future referendum.
