The Oglethorpe Echo
The Oglethorpe County Board of Education has created a plan to provide property tax relief for senior citizens.
The idea, which is subject to legislative approval and then a ballot referendum, would apply to property owners who are 65 years old or older with no school-aged children in their home. There also could be exceptions to the rule determined on a case-by-case basis.
“Someone over a certain age will be able to go to the tax assessor office, sign a form and it will freeze their property tax value for the purpose of school taxation,” Board of Education chair Becky Soto said.
District 124 Rep. Trey Rhodes (R-Greensboro) has the BOE’s plan, and the next step is for the Georgia House of Representatives to approve it.
If approved, it will be on the ballot in Oglethorpe County this November.
It would go into effect in 2026.
“About a year and a half ago, we started to have some firmer conversations about how we, as a board of education, could continue to support our schools and ensure that our schools are fully funded while also providing relief for the rising cost of owning a home,” Soto said.
So, the BOE began researching the issue and reaching out to other communities in Georgia regarding their policies on senior tax relief.
“A lot of the time, people are like ‘You gotta do what we do at home, you know you gotta adjust your budget accordingly,’” Soto said.
But Soto said figuring out the budget of an entire school system isn’t the same as a budget at home.
“It’s more tough in a school system because we have certain mandates that we are required to do via the Department of Education, whether that is the state Department of Education or the federal Department of Education,” Soto said.