Bartow Schools: Nearly 700 Fewer Students since 2008. $111 Million more dollars since 2018. NOTE: Meeting at 5:30, not 6 pm as previously reported.
Bartow School System misleads, taxes/spends more than they need.
Come this fall, Bartow County taxpayers can expect ANOTHER major increase in their property taxes. Over the last many years it has gone up every year in major ways (figure below). Last year taxes were raised $13.64 million.
The expected tax hike this year is due to ever increasing spending planned by the School Board. They are also “putting money in the bank” (by taking it from yours) for nebulous “future needs” that have not yet been publicly explained.
The Bartow County School Board will meet on 6/17/24 at 5:30 pm (UPDATED TIME!) to go through the routine motions of rubberstamping the massive, unnecessary spending plan. They already “approved” it on the “first read” on 6/3. However, the School Board needs to hear from you. If you want to avoid a tax increase this fall, you need to ask them to oppose the budget.
Show up at 65 Gilreath Road by 5:15 to sign up to speak on 6/17/24.
Planned Budget
The Bartow County School System (BCSS) budget for 2024-2025 school year proposes to spend $286.64 million in 2024-2025 school year. But their “spending” is actually just partly socking away more money in reserves. The school Board will have $108 million of your tax dollars in the bank at the end of the 2025 school year with their proposed budget.
The school board almost never stops increasing the money they spend or place in reserves. They did spend about $18 million less in 2020-2021 than 2018, and there was not harm to the system from that. But that is an aberration as can be seen. Since the 2018-2019 school year (“2019” on figure below) they are increasing spending by $111 million dollars! They propose spending $286 million next year vs $175 million for 2018 school year. (Data is only available on BCSS website to 2011 which showed $138 million in spending at that time).
While families are struggling to make ends meet in the Biden economy, we are asked to give more money to the Bartow County School system to keep in the bank? This only makes sense if you support big government and big bureaucracy.
This means there will likely be at another property tax hike of AT LEAST $10 million next year.
Here are tax hikes for the last few years (2023 here indicates the 2023-2024 school year).
Fewer Students Does Not Merit More Money
Data from the University of Georgia shows that there are nearly 700 fewer students currently than there were in 2008. There are currently 14,0455 whereas in 2008 they peaked at 14,746: 691 fewer now. This is the sort of data that the school board does NOT make transparent on their websites or even to the public. At their first Budget Meeting on 6/3, the Board was told that enrollment is up since 2018. Well, that is true, but they are cherry picking data to push more spending. The number of students is even down since 2023-2024 (14,156). (See figure on enrollment at top of post).
Here is the history of total revenue increases for the school board and what they propose. Notice above how the increase in taxes were $13.64 million last year (“2024” on chart below means the 2023-2024 school year). That means residents were paying a larger portion of the revenue hike while other sources were not.
If you want control of your school system, you are going to have to speak up and insist the school board members stop the profligate spending. If not, it is time to elect better people for the job. Each one claims to be a “republican” that are supposed to be for small government and lower taxes. But only one, Darla Williams, has ever opposed a tax hike. Tony Ross, Matt Schultz, Butch Emerson and Ann Sullivan act like big government democrats. If they refuse to change course, they need to go.
Not sure where data is coming from but the Adairsville area has slot more students than years past. I remember a few years ago we were in the 800s and now we are 1,300 +. The elementary school has grown almost out of their new bldg.
Emailed you