The Fulton County Board of Education will hold its first public hearing on the school millage rate on Thursday, July 30, at the FCS South Learning Center, 4025 Flat Shoals Road in Union City. Johns Creek families who can't make the drive south can watch the livestream on fultonschools.org.
The hearing is the first of two required before the board can formally set the property tax rate that funds school operations, teacher salaries, and facilities across the district. The board must approve a final millage rate by Tuesday, September 1.
What's at stake
Fulton County Schools has held its millage rate at 17.08 mills for two consecutive years, according to Appen Media reporting on the district's June budget adoption. That rate collects $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value and is the lowest by more than 1 mill compared to surrounding school districts. The board has not publicly indicated whether it will propose holding or raising the rate for FY2027.
The district is navigating serious financial headwinds. The board adopted a $2.3 billion FY2027 budget on June 11, with a $56.9 million deficit to be covered by drawing down reserves. That gap started far larger. Chief Financial Officer Marvin Dereef told the board at the June 11 meeting that the district "successfully reduced an initial projected budget gap of approximately $95 million down to $57 million while maintaining core services," according to Appen Media.
The pressures driving the shortfall include rising benefit costs, declining enrollment, increased special education needs, and federal funding uncertainty, according to the April 2026 Board Bulletin. District-wide enrollment for 2025-26 stood at 85,475 students, roughly 1,579 fewer than the prior year.
A major driver of the revenue squeeze: In November 2025, approximately 76% of Fulton County voters approved two homestead exemptions for seniors on the school portion of their property taxes. Those exemptions are projected to reduce FCS local revenues by roughly $50 million annually, according to the November 2025 Board Bulletin. Northview High School Principal Martin Neuhaus described the combined effect of the tax-digest change and enrollment declines as a "$60-80 million a year shortfall" in a February 2026 Northview Messenger feature, before the budget was finalized.
How to participate
The July 30 meeting will be streamed live on fultonschools.org, with recordings available within 48 hours. The agenda will be posted on the board's agenda portal before the meeting. A start time had not been posted as of Thursday, July 17; the time will be listed at fultonschools.org/board once confirmed.
A second required public hearing on the millage rate has not yet been scheduled. The board's deadline to approve the final rate is Tuesday, September 1.
