Monthly Archives: June 2019

FY2020 Salaries & Budget

DeKalb Schools administration is asking the Board of Education to approve salary adjustments for classified staff, salary adjustments for executive staff and the DeKalb County School District Budget for 2019-2020 (FY2020).

DeKalb County School District Budget for 2019-2020 (FY2020)

There are quite a number of closed door budget meetings between now and the next Board meeting (June 25). For right now, this board and administration are planning on appropriating $1.2 billion for the general fund. That is $450 million more since 2014. At the same time, the student population has decreased by roughly 5,000 students.

The current budget will take $28 million from reserves as we financially drive the school system into the ground.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
FY2020 DCSD Tentative Budget Detail
FY2020 DCSD Tentative Budget Summary (6-10-2019)
Local School Budgets (xls)

Salary Schedules and Salary Adjustments for Classified Staff

The Board of Education is currently considering the Retroactive component of the Classified Staff Salary adjustments as approved in at the January 2019 meeting by implementing the MAG study. Payment of the Classified Staff adjustments will be retroactively applied to the first working day of January 2019.

The financial impact will come to $5,500,000.00

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
2019-06-Classified-SalarySchedule
2019-06 Bus Driver SNP

Executive Staff Salary Adjustments

Executive Salary Schedule
HCM Executive Salary Placement Analysis
Presentation – Executive Salary Ranges For Regional Superintendents and Chiefs DeKalb County School District

Experience Review

Statement from the administration:

Granting steps for years of experience values staff by recognizing their longevity within the Dekalb County School District. This study is limited to internal years of completed Dekalb County School District experience, which includes both related and non-related experience. Related experience is not available and is not separately identified in this study. The DCSD Human Resources staff will audit employee files, if necessary.

Experience for classified staff was evaluated in three ways and is based on the data
file provided.

1. Experience years in current position – Estimated salary cost = $1,600,000

2. Experience years in current position, plus half DCSD experience – Estimated salary cost = 5,002,000

3. Experience years for all internal DCSD experience – Estimated salary cost = $5,800,000

Notice of Property Tax Increase

Your property tax bill is going up this year. If you live in Unicorporated DeKalb (not in a city), on average your taxes are increasing 6.7% this year. The increase property evaluations this year for cities (incorporated DeKalb) is surprising.

PROPERTY TAX BILL CALCULATION
Your DeKalb Schools Tax Bill = ([Property Value] x [Assessment Rate]) – Exemptions) x [Millage Rate]
[Property Value] is the full market value appraised by the Assessors.
[Assessment Rate] is 40% for all properties in Georgia
DeKalb Schools [Millage Rate]: 23.18/1000 (county and cities have additional millage rates)

TAX INCREASES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
This is the total expected tax increases (including county, city, school and exemptions) on average in your area.

DeKalb Municipality Total Property Taxes Increase
UNINCORPORATED 6.7%
AVONDALE 0.7%
BROOKHAVEN -0.4%
CHAMBLEE 8.5%
CLARKSTON 21.9%
DUNWOODY 1.2%
DORAVILLE 0.9%
LITHONIA -8.0%
PINE LAKE 2.2%
STONE MTN 16.5%
TUCKER 6.9%
STONECREST 7.8%

Including new development, property tax collections are increasing by 6.82%. In order for the school district to collect the same revenue as last year, they would need to roll back (decrease) the millage rate by 1.477 mills. Spending is out of control at the school district, so I do not anticipate any millage rate decreases this year.

I’m surprised that Avondale and Dunwoody will see very little tax increases this year. I’m astonished that Brookhaven taxes on average will be going down this year. I wonder if these areas were overestimated last year and this is a correction. Tax assessors will be at next Tuesday’s County Commissioner FAB meeting, I’ll see if I can introduce myself and get some answers.

NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE

The DeKalb County School District has tentatively adopted a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 6.81 percent.

All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax increase to be held at 11:30 a.m. June 10, 2019, DeKalb County School District J. David Williamson Board Room, 1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd., Stone Mountain, Georgia

Times and places of additional public hearings on this tax increase are at:

6:15 p.m. June 10, 2019, DeKalb County School District J. David Williamson Board Room, 1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd., Stone Mountain, Georgia

6:15 p.m. June 25, 2019, DeKalb County School District J. David Williamson Board Room, 1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd., Stone Mountain, Georgia

This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 23.18 mills, an increase of 1.477 mills. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 21.703 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $250,000 is approximately $129.24 and the proposed tax increase for nonhomestead property with a fair market value of $400,000 is approximately $236.32.