Cobb County Government said Monday that a mediation meeting last week with the Cobb County School District to resolve a lawsuit over tax collection fees came to an impasse.
In an unsigned statement, the county said that after the July 31 meeting, and noting that it “mediated in good faith, a resolution was not reached.”
The statement didn’t detail the reasons, and the case continues in Cobb Superior Court. The county statement added added only that “our responsibility is to protect the taxpayers of Cobb County and maintain the level of services that they have come to expect.”
On June 30, Cobb Superior Court Judge Julie Jacobs ordered the parties to appear before Judge Stephen Schuster in a mediation hearing, according to court filings.
The county was sued in Cobb Superior Court on June 15 by the Cobb school district, which alleged that the county has improperly billed the district more than $130 million in administrative fees over the last 15 years to collect school taxes that are then turned over to the school district.
The lawsuit (you can read it here) claims that the county unlawfully raised the collection fee amount from 1.6 percent to 2.5 percent of what it collects for the school district, both in property taxes and the Special-Purpose Local-Option Sales Taxes (SPLOST) for education.
The school district claims a state law, Local Act 240, should prevail. That states that all education funds since 2011 should be directed to the school district without any fees.
The total the county is charging the Cobb school district for tax collections for fiscal year 2027—which began on July 1—is $20 million.
“Whether it’s $13 million or $20 million, and whether it’s called a tax on top of taxes or a “fee,” taking even one dollar that taxpayers intended for students doesn’t work for our Board or our Superintendent. This week, our teachers and staff welcomed students back to school, and our focus remains where it belongs—on educating children. That same focus drives this lawsuit. Our teachers already serve students at one of the lowest per-pupil costs in the metro area, and we’re committed to protecting the taxpayer dollars intended for their classrooms. This lawsuit says enough is enough.”
Cobb government has contended that current Georgia law allows for the 2.5 percent collection fee, and “that, due to no current local legislation setting the commission rate lower, the commission rate should be 2.5 percent.”
The county’s actions, the district said in its initial release, constitute “a money-grab, from classrooms, for absolutely no reason, other than the presumed hope of ending the senior school tax exemption or forcing a tax increase on Cobb homeowners.”
On July 17, the Cobb school district filed a motion for a partial summary judgment; a mediation notice was filed on July 20 setting the July 31 date.
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