The Clarke County Board of Education approved its own budget last week as well. The $255 million spending plan is $13 million more than the current fiscal year. Almost all of that is salary raises and benefits, including $8.5 million in state-mandated increased health care costs and retirement contributions.
The budget also includes funding for three armed and 14 unarmed police officers to guard elementary schools, which was controversial among some school board members during a previous work session. Only two board members, Linda Davis and Mary Bagby, voted against the budget, and neither cited the officers. Davis said she was not comfortable with including a new sustainability coordinator position, while Bagby said her constituents told her “there is no end to the spending.” No members of the public spoke at three hearings for taxpayers.
Bagby also voted against setting the property tax rate at 18.8 mills, the same level as last year. The county tax digest rose by 6.5%, however, which means many homeowners will pay more in taxes, depending on their home’s assessed value.
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