The Newton County Board of Education has approved the same millage rate as last year’s.

At its July 16 meeting, the board unanimously approved Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey’s recommendation to adopt a total millage rate of 21.90 mills for the 2014 fiscal year, less than the rollback millage rate of 21.275.

The rollback rate is the rate at which the school system would collect the same amount of tax revenue given reduced property values.

The maintenance and operation millage rate is at 20 mills and the debt service millage rate is at 1.90 mills.

Newton County School System business manager Peggy Bullard said the millage rate for maintenance and operation is the same as in 2013 and the debt service millage rate also has remained the same at 1.9 mills, which is less than the allowable rollback rate of 2.017 mills.

By law, the maintenance and operation millage rate cannot exceed 20 mills, and the NCSS maintenance and operations millage rate has been at its max for the past three fiscal years. The school systems’ maintenance and operations millage rate was at 18.21 from fiscal year 2007 until 2011 when it was raised to the cap of 20 mills and has been the same ever since. The debt service rate was at 1.00 from 2007 to 2011, until it increased to 1.073 in fiscal year 2012 and then rose to 1.9, which was approved again by the BOE at its meeting Tuesday.