The Cobb County Board of Education approved a $986 million budget for Fiscal Year 2017 during its May 19, 2016 meeting, funding a full 180-day school year. The new budget includes 2.50% raises for all eligible employees, position adjustments and competitive salary adjustments for school and school support staff. Fiscal Year 2017 begins July 1, 2016 and runs through June 30, 2017.
The FY2017 General Fund Budget includes $976,056,402 in revenue and $986,056,402 in expenditures. The budget is based on a projected enrollment of 113,613 students. As a result, the district plans to use $10 million in revenue reserve to offset the shortfall in revenue.
After several years of economic downturn, the Cobb County School District is starting to experience a rebound in their two primary revenue streams – state funding and local property tax collections. State of Georgia Quality Basic Education (QBE) revenue provides approximately 51.18% of Cobb’s revenue from predetermined formulas. The revenue related to these formulas is calculated based on the total number of students. Local Property Tax Revenue generates approximately 48.30% of Cobb’s revenue. The value of property in Cobb is taxed using a tax rate called millage. The Board of Education is responsible for setting the millage tax rate each year. Taxpayers in Cobb have enjoyed some of the lowest taxes in Metro Atlanta during this time period.
“As stewards of taxpayer dollars, we have carefully and responsibly prepared the FY2017 Budget,” says Cobb County Schools’ Superintendent Chris Ragsdale. “This budget reflects the mission of the Cobb County School District to provide teaching and other appropriate support. The mandates for improving education services coupled with the large student population place significant challenges upon the budget to maintain spending controls. The Budget is a prudent plan that balances the many needs of our students with the economic realities of our community.”
Detailed information and documentation about the approved Fiscal Year 2017 Budget and development process are available under the Finance and Budget section of the Cobb County School District website: www.cobbk12.org.
This article originally appeared in the EAST COBBER August 2016 issue.
