AUGUSTA, Ga. () – The school board voted whether it would opt out of a homestead exemption. Voters approved the measure in November.  
 
Four school districts in our area can opt out of House Bill 581. Each one had three informational meetings hearing from the community about their opinions on the matter. The Richmond County Board of Education voted on whether to stay in or opt out on Tuesday. 

Governor Brian Kemp signed this bill last April to give homeowners tax relief. The statewide bill includes a floating homestead exemption, which puts a cap on property taxes in the county but could put a limit on school funding and local government. 

“Our concerns with that is not exactly with the immediate,” said Bobby Smith, Chief Financial Officer with Richmond County School Board. “Our concern is long-range and what impact that would have on our school system. So, our concern with the increases of the exemptions long term is it could potentially limit ability to collect taxes in future years, and our concern with that is our goal is quality programs, hiring staff.”

The Richmond County Board of Education has chosen to opt out of homestead exemption with a nine-to-one vote. 

“In future years it would limit assessment based on the inflation rate. So, by tonight, by them opting out, we will not be subject to those limits in the future years for that,” said Smith.

Smith says they already have exemptions in place, and opting out of the bill will not affect current taxes. He reported that 8 million dollars in funding would have been lost if the measure had been in place for the past 4-years. The school board was also afraid of staying in the bill because there is no way out of it as of now. 

The school board president says they’re thankful for all who came out and voiced their opinions on the subject at all three of the public hearings. 

“We appreciate your feedback,” said Shawnda Stovall, President of Richmond County Board of Education. “I know a lot of people believe that we’ve already made up our mind before we even hear public comment, and I can tell you that’s not true, and I know, speaking for our board, that we want to make sure that we’re good stewards of our budget, we want to make sure that we’re good Stewart over the policy that we have, and that we have an understanding of what is best for our students.”

March 1st is the last day to opt-out. Columbia County has also opted out of House Bill 581.