The Coweta County Board of Education voted Tuesday to set 2018 property tax rates at 18.59 mills, keeping the same rate in place for the 14th year.

The school system first set its current rate of 18.59 mills for property taxes in 2004 (for the school system’s 2005 fiscal year) and has maintained that rate since that time.  The Board also voted to maintain property tax rates for bonded indebtedness at 0.0 mills.

The board voted 4 to 1 to set this year’s property tax rates in a called meeting following the third of its public hearings concerning this year’s tax rates. Two hearings were held on August 2, at 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and one on August 9, at 6:30 p.m.. By maintaining the rate at 18.59 mills, school property tax collections are projected to increase by 2.67 percent due to reassessments.

The local property tax rate funds a portion of Coweta County School budget for school operations.  It is separate from the school system’s Educational Local Option Sales Tax, which funds local school construction, renovations and other capital projects, and which cannot fund operational expenditures.

This year’s fiscal year 2019 operational budget maintained the school system’s current student calendar and instructional program, provided with a 1 percent cost-of-living raise for certified and classified school system employees and step increases for employees where due, provided a 15 percent increase in bus driver pay, funded a increase in the school system’s contributions to the state Teacher Retirement System, added 10 teaching positions system-wide, and set aside funding to provide for expanding School Resource Officers to all system schools, among other items.