DeKalb homeowner to school board: ‘We have no more money to give.’ Expect many others to agree.
UPDATE at 6 p.m.: Getting word that new property assessments in DeKalb showing big jumps in some areas despite collapse of housing market. A neighbor saw a $300,000 jump — $400,000 to $700,00 — and has not added onto her house. Is there a glitch in the assessments? Anybody else seeing that sort of rise in their house’s value?
A DeKalb homeowner sent this strong letter in response to the DeKalb school board’s proposal to raise taxes. I thought I would share it here.
I expect the school board members will be getting a lot of similarly unhappy responses to their plan to dig the system out of its financial hole by a tax increase, teacher furloughs, a shortened school year and larger class sizes. Here is the letter:
Here we go again. DeKalb County, this time the school system, is in trouble and we property owners and taxpayers are asked to put in even more money. Our family loves the public education system, we are both government employees, too, but the taxes in this county have gotten way out of hand. We have voted in favor of the additional sales tax each time to help the schools and voted yes to virtually every request by the school board. But please, no more increasing property taxes!
Over the last few years, the county has eliminated the school property taxes for much of our elderly population under the idea they have “already paid their share,” as though suddenly they have no interest in an educated population. This current elderly generation is better off than any that has ever gone before and will almost certainly be better off than the ones to come! In the past 10 years, our personal property taxes have already gone up 71 percent without any change in the structure of our home.
Call it what you will, the county just increased property taxes significantly last year, and refuses to decrease property values, and now the county CEO and the school board both want to increase taxes, too. Please stop.
Please don’t do this. Is this one reason folks start moving to other counties? In the long run, these increases are just hurting the county as it shows no ability to tighten its belt as any good family would rather than just taking more out of every person’s bank accounts.
All these raises have happened while property values were dropping precipitously the last few years. For us personally, one of our salaries is frozen, and the other, the teacher, keeps getting no “changes in the contract amount,” but without increases and at the same time, increasing the length of the school day and not paying for various workdays when the teachers have to work any way.
While one might say, well this is not the school board’s doing, it is indeed its concern. School board members must look at the overall picture of what your population is facing. The board and others have chosen or approved poor superintendents who were being chased away by their former systems and then paid them extravagant salaries renewing contracts just before termination; allowed corruption and stealing of taxpayer money; continued to manage an overly extended central office; and funded programs that should never have been funded.
The state Legislature needs to stop the continuing yearly whittling away at public education in favor of private and the public school boards need to be vocal in leading the charge against this. After the taxes go in place for a temporary problem they never go away. We will be saddled with these extra taxes from hence forward. When times grow flush, we will just see more money being spent and no emergency funds.
When will all this stop and the school board stand up and make the hard decisions that are needed rather than always caving in to special to loud groups and raising taxes? We have no more money to give.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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175 comments Add your comment
mountain man
May 31st, 2012
6:35 am
Luke 1:36 – Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.
Deit 28:12 – The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
mountain man
May 31st, 2012
6:47 am
“Even the devil can quote Scripture to his own purpose”
Pardon My Blog
May 31st, 2012
7:10 am
@Joe – Since you had a recent appraisal done you can file that with your Appeal.
bootney farnsworth
May 31st, 2012
7:10 am
@ inside,
its either laugh or cry at point
bootney farnsworth
May 31st, 2012
7:18 am
not that it has anything to do with the topic at hand, but…
can anyone tell me how many babies Hank Johnson has killed?
and did he kill them because he’s a democrat?
heavy, heavy sign……
I’ve met Hank a couple times. Nice guy, clueless on almost every issue, and the fact
he keeps getting elected is symptomatic of why DeKalb is on the express train to
fiscal oblivion
but baby killing democrat…?
Ronin
May 31st, 2012
7:46 am
Double J @ 12:07, it’s called a financial death spiral. The bloated government program can’t cover it’s costs and since it can’t generate revenue, the only option is to increase taxes. Employees are are covering more of their health care costs and retirement funding.The tax assessors office is seeing the real estate market collapse and with it, funding for schools.
I’ve always believed that schools should be funded by money collected from sales tax or as part of a flat tax rather than being linked to an appraisal of your home or business property.
As far as a prior poster commenting that a kindergarten teacher position is worth 90k a year, based on the fact that a “specialist” is needed at an early age to nurture young children. I’m going to have to respectfully disagree. Given the state of Dekalb schools (in general), spending the 90k for a pre-k teacher isn’t having a positive effect on testing scores in later years. I don’t blame the teacher for accepting the compensation, rather, I would blame the school system/government for not properly evaluating each position and accurately banding the salary ranges for pre-k or high school physics or math. If you spend the 60,70, or 80k a year to attract and retain exceptional math, science and computer teachers out of college or with a masters degree, I believe you’ll see positive results.
say what?
May 31st, 2012
8:06 am
Where is the $90K ES teacher? I believe crankee-yankee was responding to another post that DCSD employees make that amount of money.
Still no answer to who gets what since North Dekalb wants the school system disbanded and the result is three new districts. Bet that if this were to happen, these North DeKalb folk would somehow figure to get FSC in their hands even though it is more south DeKalb than North DeKalb.
This is totally ridiculous. The BOE said give us a tax increase and we will keep FSC open. BOE removes FSC off the table, and people still refuse to give an additional $80 a year for the tax increase.So after last evenings meeting, I hope that the BOE understands that FSC can now be put back on the table and CLOSED!!! But they will be afraid to make this decision because they want to remain on the board and need those precious voters to vote for them. Even Jester, Edler, and McChessney would vote to keep FSC open and no tax increase to placate central and North Dekalb instead of doing what is fair and just.
As far as incompentence, Dr. A will make plenty mistakes, but I believe those days are over in DCSD. Let her do her job, including hiring her friends. Same stuff, different administration when it comes to nepotism.
Do away with summer school. If the kids did not get serious over the school year, what difference will a month of extra salary cost, diesel fuel, breakfast and lunch make in them passing the CRCT? Do like Clayton county and re-test the last 3 days of the school year.
@say what HUH?
May 31st, 2012
8:22 am
The Fenbank supporters have spoken loudly that a tax increase is ok. Most of the folks who say no to taxes have a cut everything approach.
Ronin
May 31st, 2012
8:29 am
Say What, just go to http://www.open.georgia.gov, just follow the prompts to search positions or individuals.
Yes, there are some elementary school teachers pulling down 90k,as well as some Supt. secretary’s that make as much as some Supt.’s (in smaller district schools).
Compensation is all over the map and really has little to do with who is the best teacher, it’s based on longevity and “advanced” degrees.
Atlanta Media Guy
May 31st, 2012
8:38 am
Great write up about last nights meeting by Ty Tygami. Key sentence that the majority of our board does NOT understand?
For some, that was just another in a long series of mishaps that undermined trust.
Hear that BOE and Dr. A? TRUST! I know that’s a big word for you folks who love to hire friends and family and line their pockets with our tax dollars. I find it unconscionable that the PUBLIC hearing was NOT made public on the school systems PDS-24. A local cable outlet run by a daughter in law of a former BOE Chair. Her husband is in charge of transportation at DCSS. Between them they make over $250,000 PLUS benefits per year.
Nepotism has been OUT OF CONTROL at DCSS. What’s even funnier is that that former BOE Chair’s son worked for Ramona Tyson in MIS. In 2005, he was promoted to a new job with a $15k raise. He did not show up for his new job for 6 months, until parents found him hiding out at an elementary school. Tyson was so surprised to learn that this guy never showed up for work. Of course, Ms. Tyson was rewarded with a big salary and the interim Super’s job.
This is but ONE story in a corrupt system that must be brought down! Most of the Clew Crew still works for the system. These folks are the ones responsible for driving us into the ditch, yet they still have jobs! Tyson exclaimed last spring that DCSS had a “robust” financial future. Well Ms. Tyson, what happened? Why are you still employed by DCSS?
Why did Mr. Turk, our former CFO, deplete our reserves? He was a direct report to YOU!
Trust is a big word and Ty Tygami hit the nail on the head. The stake holders continue NOT to trust our school system’s leaders. I’d like to know why Ron Ramsey’s Dept. is getting more money. Id’ also like to know why Atkinson’s office is getting 6 million more, when we are cutting teachers.
DCSS an Epic Failure since 2004!
Tony
May 31st, 2012
8:45 am
I also own a property in Carrollton, GA where the taxes are much lower, the budget is managed better and the students test higher. The BOE also hires managers that have integrity and they are not involved in all these revenue draining lawsuits. Please stop the financial abuse of your tax payers.
Anonmom
May 31st, 2012
8:47 am
I’m still for City of Decatur Schools (and Decatur itself) expanding and incorporating the surrounding areas that would include most of 30033 and 30345. I mind, tremendously, the increase in taxes going in the current situation with no trust and no accountability. But, if we could be part of City of Decatur Schools and City of Decatur and have more control and more accountability, I would not mind paying more. It’s a matter of trust and accountability. I can not condone the mishandling of the billions of dollars that have come through DCSS with nary a glance to turn out uneducated kids who are going to wind up in jail or on welfare, with some exceptions (this does not apply to everyone but it does apply to more than a critical mass of them) while I have to spend tens of thousands of my own money to get my own kids an exellent education.
Ronin
May 31st, 2012
8:54 am
If I ran a Charter School program (after the amendment passes in November), Dekalb County would be ground zero for a launch.
BlahBlahBlah
May 31st, 2012
9:03 am
@Another Voice – if they unfairly raise my values in future years, I will appeal. I’ll do my research on local sales. I’ll talk to real estate agents and get their input. I’ll be prepared with a mountain of data. If that’s not enough I’ll pay my $50 and go to court. The people opposite me will likely be overworked and underprepared. If I go into court with a calm demeanor and a mountain of data vs. the shoddy information the county is likely to present, I’ll win. I’ve appealed in the past and won. It’s not a big deal.
Tired
May 31st, 2012
9:58 am
What is the tax assessor smoking??? I double- and triple-checked my statement yesterday – someone claims our home’s value more than doubled since last year. They have got to be kidding.
Tired
May 31st, 2012
10:16 am
Also – Shocked and others with children in private school, I understand your frustration that you’re paying school taxes AND tuition. Remember also that childfree homeowners also pay school taxes for a service they’ll never use. I still think it’s part of my responsibility as a citizen to pay school taxes, but the BOE is mocking the idea that they have a responsibility to be good stewards of those funds.
Maureen Downey
May 31st, 2012
10:17 am
@Tired, Is it your home or your land? I am hearing that the tax assessor raised land values rather than house values, which makes it far more difficult to challenge.
An informative comment from a Decatur listserv this morning:
FCS Teacher
May 31st, 2012
10:27 am
@maureen
DeKalb actually dropped my property value by about 8000 and raised my home value my 45000. NO work was done on the house.
question
May 31st, 2012
11:30 am
But how can the property “value” and the home “value” be treated as two separate, discrete things? The lot by itself may go for $200,000. But this does not mean that the lot plus the home together would go for the total amount on the assessment. Most developers buy the lots and then tear down the old homes. Somebody needs to write a book about DeKalb and how far it has fallen.
Pardon My Blog
May 31st, 2012
11:32 am
For what it’s worth, I live in 30033 in a 3 bed 2 bath 60’s ranch just one street away from 30345. In the past our assessment has been double that of a 4 bed 3 bath in 30345. It appears that now the assessments have been equalized. To be clear, I am not sure that any of the assessments truly reflect a reasonable resale value especially since I researched homes that have few updates and would be comparable to mine.
Bill & Ed's Excellent Adventure
May 31st, 2012
11:53 am
@Dekalbite Just a couple of points re: your Fernbank comment. This “abundant technology equipment” you speak of…are you referring to the crusty five-year-old Dell in my child’s classroom? Or maybe the five old-ass laptops in the computer lab? Also, if the school community contributes its time and resources to the PTA & school foundation to support additional instruction, how does that affect the taxpayer? How does that affect you? It doesn’t and your comments were out of context and irrelevant to the issues at hand.
Miss Management
May 31st, 2012
12:10 pm
@BlahBlahBlah and others who don’t mind paying more since your taxes have dropped so much in recent years due to your declining home values:
Try living in zip code 30345 – my old stomping ground. Sixteen years ago, we paid $1,750 in taxes. When we sold the house in 2010, the tax bill was about $6,300. That’s TRIPLE in 16 years! Guess what – I just checked the tax records on our old house – the 2011 bill was $7,801.50. Can’t wait to see what they bill the new owners for 2012!
SOOOOO glad we sold out!!! I feel bad for y’all…
At this point, it’s taxation without representation. The board votes consistently 5-4 to put the screws to north DeKalb. You are being held hostage by the reps from south DeKalb – the majority of the board – who know full well that their constituents won’t actually pay more – that this new tax burden will fall to the minority board reps districts.
I think it’s time to revisit that Milton County idea!
Angie
May 31st, 2012
1:19 pm
We are in 30030, just outside Decatur City Schools (wish I had paid more attention to that line when we bought) and our assessment went down considerably. Like down 25% from last year and the recent appraisal we had done in connection with a refi. All houses on our street are the same. Land valuation stayed the same. Must be a mistake, right?
A Conservative Voice
May 31st, 2012
1:29 pm
You know, if we taxpayers could be assured the extra taxes would somehow be used wisely and at the same time cut all of the waste out of the system to assure we have a cushion for emergencies, I’d be OK with it…….but I know, with the present administration and BOE, this ain’t never gonna happen.
Appealing Dekalb Property Tax - City-Data Forum
May 31st, 2012
1:34 pm
[...] Everyone should appeal. There seems to be some real issues this year. Look at the beginning of this blog piece… DeKalb homeowner to school board: ‘We have no more money to give.’ Expect many others to… [...]
Sandy Springs Parent
May 31st, 2012
1:46 pm
It is very clear that in both Dekalb and Fulton County the black adminstrations are putting the screws on the white homeowners. I bought my house for $345K, in Sept. 2011. The law says that, is the maximum value, that Fulton can set for my house. No, they set it for $565K. I had a hard time getting the house appraised so that I could even close for the $345k I bought this unrenovated 1965 House. The 90 year old lady who owned the house since it was built in 1965 had an Elderly person Exemption on the house since she was 70. So she never bothered to even look at the appraisal, let alone because her taxes were frozen at just under $3,000.
When I called Fulton County, they admitted they were ignoring the law, about the price of sales. They accused me of having a foreclosue or shortsale. I said, no a regular sale. Then they threatened you know we only have to keep it at that amount for a year. I said it barely would appraise at what I bought it for. I said and you clearly know I bought it, because it is on your Web site as a sale, with the lower sale price, and you took off the elderly freeze and raised the taxes over $4,000. They also did not give me my Homestead exemption which I applied for in January. She blamed that on a computer issue. They made me run back and forth to the North Fulton Office three times with ever changing requirements.
I have already contacted Johnnie Edwards about Fulton County’s obvious breaking the law. My RE Agent told me all their Customers in North Fulton were having the same problems.
Hopefully at least in Fulton we will see a change in the Tax office.
BlahBlahBlah
May 31st, 2012
1:53 pm
@Miss Management – what did you sell the house for, and what was it assessed at? We’re talking about at least a $500,000 house there.
Fed Up
May 31st, 2012
2:14 pm
Our appraisal went up $50,000 this year and is now $2,000 more than what we paid for the house when we bought it in 2006 at the peak of the market. We will be filing an appeal. This is outrageous.
another comment
May 31st, 2012
2:25 pm
If you want to challenge the land value raising scam by the tax office, you have to look a little deeper. The builders, tend to flip property back and forth between their closely held companies to raise the value of the property. Then they avoid pulling cash out their pocket to get construction loans. This was expecially prevalant before the big crash. I moved from one subdivision in Cobb County where I had a .4 acre lot that was valued at $79K to another subdivision that actually abutted the other subdivision, but had a less desirable elementary school. I had a .22 acre lot, Cobb County listed my lot value as $202,000. I also knew what the entire plot of land sold to the original developer. I have a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering so I could roughly figure out the development costs, to get what the per lot costs were. First Cobb tried to agrue that, was the last sales price. Then I pointed out, that all of the companys were owned by the same person. Also related to someone that is lobbying for Builder/Developer debt to be forgivven. I went in and pointed out these sales. First year I got about 30K off the land cost.
The next year the original builder allegedly went out of buisiness and sold the lots to a low end builder when Regions Bank was Suing him for 6.4 million and comming after his precious Reynolds Plantation $3.4 Million dollar house . The new low end builder sent out this letter on how he was going to save our neighborhood by building look alike house. so I called him, and since I know how to talk the BS of the Good old boys he bragged about getting these lots for only $35K each. Then later on they did a flip between one of their closely held companies to inflate the purchase price to $119K.
I also had contacted Cobb County about what the minimum building permit $/sq ft. cost was and it is $65 above grade and $10/ for basements unfinished. Then Cobb now charges homeowners $30/for basement finish. So they give the Good Olde boy contract’s a price that is lower than 99% of them are paying. You would not want to buy a $65/sf house. Then they overcharge the homeowner, you can build a nice finished basement with a full bath and a 2 ton heat pump for about $22/sf all day long.
It took research and using what builders paid in mass lot purchase prices but I got my lot price down under $100K and the construction dollar value of my house to $65/sf so that I had a 3,700 sf house at $408K. Which is what I could sell it at a short sale.
I also gave all my information to Sally Yates Office, the FBI, and the FDIC, who stated that they will be using it because 4 banks failed that were used by the first contrator/developer.
Additionally, In a real class on Construction Management and how to be successfull based on good business and analysis of the facts, ideally a contractor/developer should not pay more than 1/5 the cost of the building for the land, the absolute most, you should ever pay for the land should be 1/4/. If the value of your house is less than 1/4 the land value you should appeal the land value. Maureen you say that lots are going for $200K,. But with a house on it, what are the houses worth $500K. Someone would have to build a $2.5 million dollar house to replace a $500,000 house with new house. Big difference in a neighborhood supporting a $1.2 million dollar house on a $200,000 lot than a $2.5 million dollar house which is almost impossible to build on a Decatur City lot.
Those that have had their land value raised in lieu of their house value raised, it might be wise to hire a pro, who takes 30% of the savings the first year. It is essential to get the land value down.
Maureen Downey
May 31st, 2012
2:31 pm
@To all, The DeKalb CEO’s office sent me a note that folks should take their complaints to Calvin Hicks, the Chief Appraiser for DeKalb.
Mary
May 31st, 2012
2:33 pm
I am more and more distraught by the increase of nearly 60% of my property’s value and at the idea of coming up with the added taxes. Reading the entries it looks like the values either went up or down by a significant amount for no apparent reasons (a colleague living in Brookhaven saw the value decrease by 30%). Yes we can appeal but the result is not guaranteed and one must wonder how this can even happen in the first place!
As for the value of the land, my small lot is valued at twice those of the street running perpendicular which are quite large. Distraught indeed!
Justwondering
May 31st, 2012
3:03 pm
Two of the last four grand juries in DeJakb have called into question the board of tax appraisers. In fact, the Nov/Dec Grand Jury refused to approve them. In typical DeKalb fashion, the next grand jury approved them with no questions asked.
Dekalbite@Maureen
May 31st, 2012
4:14 pm
So who in the state of Georgia ensures that county property tax assessors have some standards? There must be some standards written into law somewhere like having to show 3 comparables that sold in the prior tax year before your assessment. There must be some state guidelines in some department.
Sade
May 31st, 2012
4:43 pm
According to the FMV statement my modest 2 bedroom 1 bath house in Tucker, 30084, is now valued at $66,900; less than half what I paid for it 8 years ago. There is something seriously wrong in DeKalb County. It’s time to clean house.
Miss Management
May 31st, 2012
5:26 pm
@BlahBlahBlah, you are correct, it was about a $500,000 house. Appraised at $496,000. Sold for a tiny bit more. So? What does the value of the house have to do with the ridiculous rise in our tax bill in the last few years? Aren’t home prices supposed to have dropped? Is it ok with you to raise ’some’ people’s taxes to compensate for having to drop others? I think some gouging may be occurring.
catlady
May 31st, 2012
5:54 pm
What a sad, miserable scam being perpetrated on folks in Georgia!
Last year my value was lowered ONE THIRD OF ONE PERCENT. My neighbors’ values were lowered an average of 16%. My closest neighbor’s was lowered over 30%! I appealed, and got nowhere, even when I had all the sales info from the area, which showed my value too high. The little old blue hairs on the appeals board just listened to me and then voted to uphold the appraiser’s figures, even when I showed photos to prove my point. I am sick of this. If you go to court, you are responsible for court costs, and most of us cannot afford that. Next year I will file a property return and try it that way.
Jan
May 31st, 2012
6:12 pm
@Sade… I live in 30084 too. My home value has decreased by over 50% since the market crashed. A 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house with a basement and a 2 car garage in my neighborhood just sold for $125K, which is less than what I paid for my house 17 years ago. So I am not surprised by your house value dropping so much.
However, I can’t complain about my assessment, it seems to be on par with the values in the neighborhood.
Jenn
May 31st, 2012
7:45 pm
Our tax appraised value in 30319 (unincorporated Dekalb, potentially becoming Brookhaven) increased by $20,000. I recently had an appraisal done for a refinance that showed us valued at about 5K less than the tax assessed value for 2011. I’ll be using this to try and appeal the increase.
Disgusted in DeKalb
May 31st, 2012
8:48 pm
30030. 2012 appraisal went up on 55 year old ranch house with absolutely no improvements in years.
Tweaked in Dunwoody
May 31st, 2012
9:04 pm
My house in Dunwoody has been for sale for $319,000 for almost 2 years in total. Paid $358,000 five years ago. The payoff is $285,000. We’re looking for a short sale, but the banks are not very accommodating. The new tax assessment just arrived. My house value went up on my 2012 bill from $306,000 to $315,000. Obviously, I’ll be very lucky to get $315,000. Tax goes up from $3,900 to $4,200.
Disgusted in DeKalb
May 31st, 2012
9:20 pm
Just went to the County tax assessor website to look at details of our increase in zipcode 30030. Maureen, they did the same thing with our house and one other I checked. They doubled the land values.
Maureen Downey
May 31st, 2012
9:22 pm
@Disgusted, The number of appeals is going to be astronomical. Not sure how the county can justify what seems to be clear effort to jack up taxes with inflated land evaluations. The odd thing is that co-workers in some parts of DeKalb, including around Lakeside, had their valuations drop.
Maureen
Tweaked in Dunwoody
May 31st, 2012
9:34 pm
Interesting, my value is exactly the same in 2010 as 2011, but the mix of land and building value is very different. And the county tax bill went up last year. Wait till the school board portion goes up too (70% of the property tax bill is school tax.)
2010
Land 114,000
Building 192,600
Total 306,600
TAX $3,898.36
2011
Land 137,100
Building 169,500
Total 306,600
TAX $4,119.70
Miss Management
May 31st, 2012
9:51 pm
Kind of looks like they’re making Lakeside more affordable!
Here’s my old house tax info:
Taxable Year 2010
Land Value $89,700
Building Value $403,000
Misc. Improvement Value $0
Total Value $492,700
40% Taxable Assessment $197,080
TAX BILL $6,241.14
Taxable Year 2011
Land Value $143,800
Building Value $348,900
Misc. Improvement Value $0
Total Value $492,700
40% Taxable Assessment $197,080
TAX BILL $7,801.50
Taxable Year 2012
Land Value $145,300
Building Value $189,300
Misc. Improvement Value $0
Total Value $334,600
40% Taxable Assessment $133,840
TAX BILL $???
Looks like the school system tax collections could be going waaaaay down… at least around Lakeside…. no wonder they plan to raise the millage rate. There is no way for DeKalb schools to dig out of the hole. Dunwoody can’t save you. LOL…
Anonmom
May 31st, 2012
10:45 pm
wondering if anyone saw the news about the former mayor of Gwinnett (I think I have this right) pleading guilty on a federal bribery charge and 2 more commissioners being prosecuted for bribes. I’ve got mixed emotions… not sure if this is better or worse than Dekalb. At least they’re being prosecuted….. I’m not sure that I believe that there are states worse than us on the corruption front… how much worse can it really be?
Ronin
June 1st, 2012
12:22 am
The evaluations of home prices are pretty much a conundrum.
The Dekalb blue hair review board won’t pass for credible, if you file in court.
Catlady, court costs, in this type of case are limited to filing fees, which may run $75.00, unless you hire counsel for the process.
Lou
June 1st, 2012
3:35 am
To “Miss Management”: I wonder where “around Lakeside” that taxes are going down other than the isolated example. Lakeside is in zip 30345 and taxes have gone up considerably in this zip. Read some of the posts above to disprove the “going down” around Lakeside. I live within walking distance of Lakeside and my evaluation went up close to 50%, along with many of my neighbors.
Dekalbite@miss management
June 1st, 2012
8:10 am
Lakeside is all over the place with no rhyme or reason and many small, older homes are having assessments raised. The expensive Amberwood neighborhood had a number of foreclosures so taxes were lowered in many pockets of those mostly large beautiful homes built on big pieces of property. Meanwhile, I guess they needed to up the assessments in the surrounding less affluent areas with smaller, older homes on smaller lots to make up the difference even though it is absurd to think those homes have anywhere near the value of Amberwood. So many of those smaller, older outlying area that are on smaller lots are going up in assessment to the point they are reaching the Amberwood prices even though no one would pay anywhere near the prices they would for the Amberwood area homes. This is causing a real imbalance in assessments whereby there is no standardization, and the true market value is not driving assessments. This is the opposite of what assessments and property taxes should be. People are getting wise to this practice and there will be tens of thousands of appeals this year as well. They are coming out of the woodwork in my neighborhood.
Dekalbite
June 1st, 2012
8:33 am
Below is a comment from DeKalb School Watch blog from Denise McGill (running for Tom Bowen’s BOE seat in District 6) says about Fernbank Science Center that really applies to all of these special programs that cost so much and benefit so few. The schools differ too much in what they provide for students. The school system has engendered a culture of inequity with no standardization between schools. Dr. Atkinson remarked on that when she toured the schools last fall.
There will not be widespread support for sky high taxes when the school system is not providing equal and consistent educational services for all students. School taxes represent 60% of our property taxes. The school system has lost its focus, and much of the dissatisfaction with taxes is driven by the return on investment (or lack thereof) we are getting from our school system. Ms. McGill really nails it with this comment. I’m not in District 6, but what she says applies to the entire school system including my district:
“What DeKalb has as STT was considered normal curriculum in my High School. I was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio- my husband in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The curriculum that is being taught in Fernbank was the NORM in our high schools. It is baffling to me why the rigor of this program is not standard? It is my opinion that and what is being taught at Fernbank is what every student should be getting in their classrooms.
As a Freshman, my Son was one of the very few in our district that was “chosen” to attend the STT program. The plus side to this was it afforded him the opportunity to work with a diverse set of students of all races. (Something that was a norm for my husband an myself being raised in Ohio). When we discovered fully what STT offered, we were simply shocked as to why this would be considered “above standard” for students. Quite frankly, until moving to Georgia (to attend Spelman and Morehouse College,) we had not experienced the challenges of non diversity/lack of equal opportunities. Our children have attended public school in our neighborhood since they have been of school age. We as parents ensure that we enhance their awareness and opportunities by supplementing extra curricular activities, and family outings to keep them well rounded. It is my belief, that if we made our investment in our children beginning in Pre-K…a child would have no problem with a STT curriculum within their school schedule. The same would be true for IB classes. If you start EVERY CHILD with an equal opportunity, their would be no need to segregate the few…. Wonderful program- but needs to be open and available to all.”
RCB
June 1st, 2012
8:36 am
30319–my land and house values flipped. Even with the 2 mils the BOE wanted, my tax bill is $600 lower than last year. Exactly how do they plan to use property taxes to fill this huge gap??? Not going to happen.