Bibb School Board plans to increase property taxes, call for ESPLOST vote

The Bibb County Board of Education plans to raise property taxes and seek voters’ approval for a penny-on-the-dollar sales tax in November in an effort to reduce the $20.7 million deficit in its 2026 budget.

The board voted unanimously Thursday on a tentative 4.65% property tax increase, maintaining the millage rate at 14.674 mills. 

The millage rate is set annually by the school board and determines how much property owners will pay for every $1,000 of taxable property value. Since the value of taxable properties in Bibb County has increased in recent years, maintaining the millage rate is effectively a tax increase that is expected to raise about $3.8 million in revenue for the school district.

For the owner of a $200,000 home, the proposed tax increase would mean an additional $50 in yearly property taxes.

“Maintaining made a lot of sense because of the massive deficiency in state funds and the federal funding freeze,” board member James Freeman said. “Rolling it back doesn’t make sense in facing a deficit.”

The Bibb County school board approved its 2026 budget last month which included a $20.7 million deficit. The proposed tax increase would bring the deficit down to about $16.7 million, according to a district financial presentation. 

Homeowners and residents can voice their concerns at one of several upcoming public hearings ahead of the board’s final vote at its Aug. 14 meeting.

Additionally, the board approved a measure to put an educational sales tax on the ballot for Bibb County voters in November. 

The district also did not provide any additional updates on the $6.8 million in funds withheld from the school district by the federal government. The funds are to be used for after school programs, English For Speakers of Other Languages services and professional development.

“At this point we are still in a space of waiting,” Superintendent Dan Sims said. “We want to acknowledge it as a freeze.”

ESPLOST vote set for November

Board members also voted unanimously to put an Education Special Local Option Sales Tax on the November ballot. ESPLOST, a penny-on-the-dollar sales tax, would pay for capital projects that otherwise would have to be paid for using money from the district’s general fund. 

Should voters approve the ESPLOST, the district could collect up to $250 million, though it expects to collect only $225 million based on projections. Macon-Bibb County voters last approved an ESPLOST in 2016 and 2021. 

Assistant Superintendent of Operations Sam Kitchens said the money will go toward projects including safety and security, inclusive playgrounds, buses, a renovation of Bernd Elementary and more. 

Bernd’s “modernization” will go “all the way down to the water lines,” Kitchens said. 

Another priority, Kitchens said, is replacing HVAC districtwide. The refrigerant used in most of the systems is no longer being produced, so if an air conditioning unit goes out then there’s nothing the district can do to repair it.

Money from the ESPLOST would also go toward buying laptops for middle and high school students, desktops for employees and iPads for younger students.

“A four, five-year-old laptop is a paperweight,” Kitchens said.

The board did not vote on whether to accept funds for a truancy officer that were approved by the Macon-Bibb County commission.

“It’s a key thing to make sure kids are in school and I pointed that out in my very first meeting,” Board member Henry Ficklin told The Melody. “We didn’t have enough money to do it in this budget, but the mayor perhaps realized that.”

The Infinity Academy denied again

Board member Lisa Garrett-Boyd made a point of zooming through her committee’s agenda items, finishing with a quick recommendation and unanimous vote to deny a local charter contract with The Infinity Academy.

The Infinity Academy applied last year as an elementary school in downtown Macon but did not receive approval amid allegations of fraud. The academy submitted a second petition on June 14.

Deputy superintendent Katika Lovett told The Melody the academy did improve on its application from last year, and “followed all required steps,” but the application still had problems.

Lovett and the district’s charter school review committee recommended the board deny the academy’s petition citing concerns about the academy’s selected site, financial plans and operational processes.

A key concern was the charter school’s proposed site at 606 Cherry St., the current location of a Truist Bank office and a law firm, which “would not provide enough space for all instructional and support needs,” according to board documents.

The school listed other potential sites for the school, including the Goodwill on Houston Road and a former electronics store near Eisenhower Parkway and Bloomfield Road, in an earlier version of its petition.

“While the Infinity Academy does present what we felt to be an ambitious and community centered vision for public education, the petition in its current form fails to demonstrate operational readiness, statutory compliance, effective governance practices and legal sufficiency,” Lovett told board members.

The charter school had the opportunity to revise its application after the district looked over it and left comments, Lovett said. The district also interviewed the school’s governing board in a measure of due diligence it failed to do last year.

Lovett added that the final application was looked at with “fresh eyes” and that the district is not concerned about new state rules on charter schools approval because The Infinity Academy did not apply to the State Charter School Commission this year.

Members of The Infinity Academy’s governing board did not respond to multiple requests for comment.