The Rockdale County School Board voted 4-1 at Thursday night's school board meeting to adopt a $127 million final budget that would require a 1.51 millage rate increase.

This would bring the millage rate to 24.5 mills to collect the same amount or less revenue as last year. It follows a 1.99 rate increase in 2010. Prior to that, the rate had remained flat or fallen since 2002.

Chairman Wales Barksdale, members Brad Smith, Darlene Hotchkiss, and Jean Yontz voted to approve the budget option. Member Don McKinney voted against. Members Katrina Young and Jim McBrayer, who had voted against the option with the tax increase in May during the tentative budget adoption, were attending a Georgia School Board Association meeting they had previously committed to and were not present.

Member Brad Smith said during discussion before the vote, “When all that came about, I talked to our CFO and tax commissioner. If we raise the millage rate, will most people end up paying less tax? They both said yes. Not all of us, but most of us will pay less in our taxes.”

RCPS Finance Director Lee Davis previously said most homeowners would pay the same or less in school tax if their property value dropped by 6.5 percent, but that Tax Commissioner Dan Ray had estimated property values would drop and the tax digest would drop by about 8.5 percent.

Smith continued, “I don’t understand why so many people are willing to throw the teachers under the bus and let them pay for what – if we raised the millage rate – would be a small rate to some of these people.”

“We’re willing to take $137 a month from our teachers to save a couple of pennies,” he said. “I just can’t justify that.”

Smith read off examples of school tax bills paid last year and this year.

“I’ve looked at some of the new tax assessments that’s come out. One person I’ve been communicating with paid $15 less last year with the millage increase. This year, based on the calculations with the new millage rate and that person’s decrease in property value, they will pay $234 less in property taxes this year.

“I have another person who paid $222 more last year because their property did not go down as much last year. But that person this year will pay $42 less with their millage increase.”

Member Darlene Hotchkiss said, “This board has spent countless hours researching and made drastic cuts in areas five years ago I would never have entertained… I’m not happy with having to make this decision, but there is nothing else to cut and continue to provide the services that Rockdale County deserves to have as an education system.

She added, “I do want to thank that I’ve heard from in emails, that I’ve heard from in here. Whether we agree or disagree. It will only make us stronger to hear from all sides.”

Member Jean Yontz said, “The people who elected me elected me not because of who I am or what I know, but because I would do the best for education for all children. I believe it takes money to educate children.”

During the public comment section of the meeting, resident Sam Smiley pointed out the Georgia Constitution capped school taxes at 20 mills. He said he had heard an exception applied to Rockdale County but had never seen the document that provided the exception and requested to see the document.

School attorney Jack Lance said, after the meeting, that Rockdale County was listed in the 1983 local bills approved in the state legislature and that the school system was allowed to increase the rate up to 30 mills.

In other RCPS news:

 Rockdale County Public Schools scores for the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, which are given to elementary and middle school students, in reading and math held steady or rose slightly for the 2010-2011 school year compared to last year's initial test scores, according to information to be reviewed in the Board of Education meeting on Thursday. Retesting scores for this year have not been factored in yet.

Elementary scores this year for reading in the initial test was 93 percent meeting or exceeding - the same as last year's initial test scores. Elementary math scores this year were slightly higher - 88 percent meeting or exceeding - than last year's 87 percent meeting or exceeding.

Middle school reading scores this year were slightly higher than last year - 96 percent meeting or exceeding compared to 95 percent last year. Middle school math performance was also higher - 85 percent of middle school students met or exceeded the standard this year compared to 82 percent last year.

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(June 16, 6:38 p.m.) IN BRIEF: Rockdale County Public Schools scores for the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, which are given to elementary and middle school students, in reading and math held steady or rose slightly for the 2010-2011 school year compared to last year's initial test scores, according to information to be reviewed in the Board of Education meeting on Thursday. Retesting scores for this year have not been factored in yet.

Elementary scores this year for reading in the initial test was 93 percent meeting or exceeding - the same as last year's initial test scores. Elementary math scores this year were slightly higher - 88 percent meeting or exceeding - than last year's 87 percent meeting or exceeding.

Middle school reading scores this year were slightly higher than last year - 96 percent meeting or exceeding compared to 95 percent last year. Middle school math performance was also higher - 85 percent of middle school students met or exceeded the standard this year compared to 82 percent last year.

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