SPRINGFIELD, Ga. — Effingham County property owners could see an additional 2-mill reduction in their school property taxes this year, after the school board voted Monday at a special meeting to use tax-relief money generated by the sale of land for the proposed OpenAI data center.
The Effingham County Board of Education voted unanimously to lower its fiscal 2027 millage rate to 16.45 mills. The reduction still must be approved by the Effingham County Board of Commissioners at its Sept. 1 meeting.
The proposed rate is 2 mills below the 18.45 mills the school district charged last year and 1.568 mills below the 18.018-mill rollback rate the school board approved Aug. 20.
The reduction is part of a broader financial arrangement tied to Project Camellia that would lower taxes for local property owners while allowing the school district to maintain the higher 18.018-mill revenue calculation for OpenAI under a proposed 15-year tax abatement agreement.
The county also has offered to assume 100% of the district's school resource officer costs this year, further reducing the district's expenses.
The series of approvals is unfolding over several days. The school board acted Monday morning, the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority is scheduled to consider the related agreements Monday afternoon, and the County Commission will consider its millage rate and related agreements Tuesday.
If those actions are approved, the school board is expected to return Wednesday to formally accept the agreements.
County Manager Tim Callanan outlined the timetable during an interview last week as county, school district and IDA officials worked through the tax-relief arrangement.
Ford told the board Monday that the reduction is tied to a three-year, $90 million arrangement offered by the county and IDA.
“The IDA and the county reached out and offered a three-year through an intergovernmental agreement, $30 million per year for three years, which would be equivalent of $90 million,” Ford said.
For the current year, the school district would receive funding equivalent to 2 mills, allowing it to reduce the rate from 18.018 mills to 16.45 mills.
Ford said the district's local property tax revenue under the lower rate would be about $71.3 million, with an additional county appropriation of about $8.8 million representing the equivalent of 2 mills.
OpenAI agreement could preserve higher revenue
The tax cut approved Monday is not the only OpenAI-related action that could affect the school district.
The ECIDA was scheduled to consider a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI at its 4 p.m. meeting Monday that would establish a 15-year payment arrangement for the school district.
Under the proposed agreement, OpenAI would pay the school district based on the previously adopted 18.018-mill rate rather than the 16.45-mill rate being charged to other property owners.
That would allow the district to lower the millage rate for local property owners while maintaining the higher 18.018-mill revenue calculation for OpenAI.
“And then, a really key agenda item is the MOU, the MOU with OpenAI,” Ford said. “There's an agenda item on their agenda today that would lock that millage rate in for 15 years for the school district, or for OpenAI to pay to the school district of 18.018 instead of the 16.45.”
The ECIDA also was scheduled to consider a resolution authorizing the intergovernmental agreement that would provide funding to the county and school district.
The IDA meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Aug. 31 in the authority's second-floor board room, 100 Enterprise Drive, Rincon.
County to take over SRO costs
The arrangement also would reduce an expense currently shared by the county and school district.
The school district currently pays 75% of its school resource officer contract, while the county pays the remaining 25%.
Ford said the county has offered to take on the full cost of the SRO contract for the current year.
That would give the district more room in its reserves.
Ford said the district currently has $393,000 in restricted reserve funds, with another $511,000 remaining as an operational gain. With the county assuming the full SRO cost, the district's reserve would increase to nearly $3 million.
County vote still needed
The school board's Monday vote does not make the 16.45-mill rate final.
The County Commission must approve the reduction before the new rate can take effect. The county also must finalize its own millage rate and provide the information to the tax commissioner for preparation of property tax bills.
Ford explained that the timing of the school board's vote was tied to the county's schedule.
“The county meets tomorrow, and of course that's standard where we have to have our millage rate adopted by our school board prior to the county adopting the millage rate and then giving that information over to the tax commissioner to be able to send out tax bills,” Ford said.
The Effingham County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. Sept. 1 at the county administrative offices, 804 S. Laurel St., Springfield.
If the ECIDA and county approve the agreements, the school board will return Wednesday to formally accept the resolution and intergovernmental agreement, Ford said.
From 18.45 to 16.45 mills
The proposed 16.45-mill school rate represents a 2-mill reduction from last year's rate and a 1.568-mill reduction from the rate approved just 11 days ago.
A mill represents $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of assessed property value.
The actual savings for individual property owners will depend on the assessed value of their property and the tax districts that apply.
The school district's reduction is part of a larger countywide tax-relief plan tied to the OpenAI land sale. The ECIDA has proposed providing $30 million annually to the county for three years, while also suspending its own 2-mill property tax levy for the duration of OpenAI's proposed 15-year tax abatement agreement.
The county also is expected to consider its own millage-rate reduction Tuesday.
Ford recommended Monday that the board approve the 16.45-mill rate.
“I would like to make a recommendation to approve the FY 27 millage rate of 16.45,” he said.
The board approved the recommendation unanimously.
