Budget Funds

Dalton Public Schools’ five major funds are the General Fund, Special Funds, School Nutrition Funds, Capital Funds, and Debt Service with the General Fund of $90 million being the primary source of revenues and expenditures. The Special Funds are $8 million and make up most of the district’s Federal and State grants. The School Nutrition Funds are nearly $6 million. The Capital Fund dollar amounts can vary depending upon the availability of resources and the particular projects in progress. Most of the Capital Fund projects are financed with an Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) that may be augmented with General Fund resources from time to time. The district has built Hammond Creek Middle School for 6th and 7th grade students. This was funded through the voter approved General Obligation (GO) bond from the November 2017 referendum. Currently, the district has two Debt Service obligations. The first one is a five year Revenue bond of $13 million through the City of Dalton Building Authority that will be paid with ESPLOST V funds. The second obligation is a 30 year GO bond of $40 million that is currently paid with property taxes using a separate millage rate.

General Fund Revenues

The district receives about 60 percent of General Fund revenues from state sources, 38 percent from local property taxes, and 2 percent from other local and federal sources. Beginning in fiscal year 2021, state austerity reductions will be reinstated due to the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic. Georgia school districts absorbed losses in state funding throughout the last two recession from 2003 through 2018. Austerity reductions have been implemented when the state General Assembly has been unable to fund the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula that is primarily based on student enrollment. Georgia school districts did not have austerity reductions in fiscal year 2019 and 2020.

Dalton Public Schools property tax base is 72 percent industrial and commercial property, 27 percent residential, and 1 percent motor vehicles. When the Dalton economy began to decline in 2010, the district experienced a loss in local revenue because of the declining tax digest. From 2009 to 2013, the City of Dalton tax digest declined by 8 percent resulting in the loss of $2.5 million in school funding. Losses in local property tax funding were compounded by the first year phased-in implementation of the Freeport exemption of 20 percent on commercial and industrial inventory which is an economic incentive intended for commercial and industrial growth. In 2011 the loss of local property tax revenue that was attributable to the Freeport exemption was $700,000. For 2020, the same 20 percent Freeport exemption is a loss of around $1 million in local property tax revenue.

In a move to be sensitive to the financial situations of local property owners throughout the recession, the Dalton Board of Education held the millage rate steady for 6 years at 7.845 mills and drastically cut expenses. All the while, the district’s student enrollment continued to grow putting pressure on class size, program offerings, resources, and services. In 2015, the board approved its first millage rate increase in 10 years to 8.20 mills to meet the educational needs of Dalton students. In fiscal year 2022, the board rolled back the millage rate to 8.095 mills. In fiscal year 2023, the board approved another rollback of 8.09 mills.

General Fund Expenditures

Salary and benefits are about 84 percent of the district’s expenditures. Therefore, with an economic decline, the district has tough financial choices, including eliminating positions, implementing work calendar reductions for both students and staff, and scaling back programs.

The board and district administration continue to be good stewards of financial resources. The quality of academic and supporting programs remains strong and the district remains sensitive to cuts that directly affect classroom instruction.

Each year since 2011 from the last recession, the board has approved adding positions to address growing enrollment and program needs throughout the district and expenditures have increased accordingly. As financial resources became available, additional days have been added to students and staff calendars, and full-calendar restoration was in place beginning in 2017. By 2019, the board was able to restore class sizes and begin making improvements to the local teacher salary scale. Dalton Public Schools is committed to maintaining appropriate resources to ensure educational excellence while being responsive and respectful to the local economy and community.