Spring and summer in Cobb County is also budget season for Cobb government and the Cobb County School District.
The Cobb Board of Education will be presented with the district’s fiscal year 2026 tentative budget on Thursday, and will hold a public budget forum Thursday evening.
The budget presentation takes place at a work session that starts at 1:30 p.m. The budget public forum starts at 6:30 p.m., and the board’s monthly voting meeting starts at 7 p.m.
All meetings Thursday take place in the board room of the CCSD Central Office, at 514 Glover St. in Marietta. An executive session will follow the work session.
The final budget hearing is scheduled for May 15, also at 6:30 p.m., shortly before the board is scheduled to adopt the budget.
In July, the school board adopts a property tax millage rate after the final Cobb tax digest is issued.
The Cobb school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1-June 30 of each year.
The current district FY 2025 budget of $1.8 billion was adopted last year that held the property tax rate at 18.7 mills and included broad employee raises.
(Here’s the full district budget calendar.)
Watching the Funds-Cobb, a citizens financial watchdog group, has been critical of the district’s budget process, saying it doesn’t provide the public with adequate time to examine or speak to the budget.
The budget hearings take place the day the budget is presented, and the day it is to be adopted. The group has suggested having hearings somewhere in between those dates.
“Yes, the district holds the legally required public hearings—but they defy the spirit of the law,” the group posted on its Facebook page in late March. “It’s all for show.”
For most homeowners, school taxes comprise around two-thirds of their property tax bills. Seniors 62 and older can claim a general exemption from school taxes.
The Cobb Board of Commissioners will be presented a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget at a work session on June 24.
Public hearings on the budget and millage rate will take place on July 8 at 9 a.m., July 16 at 6:30 p.m. and July 22 at 7 p.m., with adoption scheduled for the latter date.
Last month commissioners were presented with a wish list by county department heads that would add 290 employees (much of it for public safety agencies) and $92.7 million to a budget that would add up to $1.3 billion.
Last July commissioners also held the property tax rate but spending went up $63.7 million, despite pleas from residents to roll back the millage.
Cobb government’s budget details can be found here.
Related:
- East Cobb resident named to Ga. charter schools commission
- Cobb department heads ask for $92M+ in new spending
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