Catoosa County Schools • Georgia Legislature 2025–2026

Two Property Tax Bills.
Two Completely Separate Buckets of Money.

HB 30 cuts school funding. HB 36EX doesn't restore it. Here's why it matters.
Passed · 2026 Primary Ballot

HB 30 — Senior School Tax Exemption

Passed 2025 · Effective Jan. 1, 2027 if voters approve
👥Who qualifies: Homeowners 67+ regardless of income
🏠What it does: Exempts $100K of home value from school district ad valorem taxes
🎓Money comes from: Catoosa County school district budget — and nowhere else
🔒Replacement? None provided in the bill
⚠ $3 million/year removed from school budget
Proposed · Pending Passage · Nov. Ballot if Approved

HB 36EX — LHOST County Tax Relief

Proposed 2026 · If passed, sales tax would run 2028–2037
👥Who qualifies: All Catoosa County homeowners
🛒What it does: New 1% LHOST sales tax used to offset county property taxes
🏛Money goes to: County government taxes only — roads, services, county operations
🚫For schools? No. Prohibited by Georgia law.
✓ Reduces county taxes only — schools not affected
These bills operate on legally separate tax accounts. They do not interact.
Where Does the Money Actually Go?
🎓 School District Taxes
📉HB 30 removes $3M/yr
❌LHOST money cannot flow here — prohibited by state law
🔒School board is a separate governing authority
Gap stays: $3M/year unfunded
≠
🏛 County Government Taxes
✅HB 36EX: 1% sales tax funds exemptions here
🛣Covers: roads, parks, police, fire, county services
⏱Sales tax runs 2028–2037 only, then stops
County tax relief — but with an expiration date
⚠ You Cannot Fill a School Funding Hole with County Tax Revenue
Voting yes on HB 36EX provides zero protection for Catoosa County school funding.
The $3 million annual cut from HB 30 remains in place — regardless of what voters decide on LHOST.
$3M
Annual cut to Catoosa schools under HB 30
70
Staff positions already cut the year before HB 30
$10M+
State funding lost by CCPS over the past five years

Four Things to Understand About HB 36EX

When school revenue falls
The school board must either raise the millage rate on remaining properties — shifting the burden to younger and working families — or cut programs, staff, and services further.
Who pays the sales tax
A 1% sales tax is paid by everyone — including renters, who get no homestead exemption benefit. Lower-income households spend a higher share of income on taxable goods, making this a regressive shift.
The 2038–2039 cliff
The LHOST sales tax ends Dec. 31, 2037 — but homestead exemptions continue through 2039. For those two years, the county must absorb the full exemption cost from its general fund with no sales tax to offset it.
What CCPS has said
Catoosa County Public Schools has one of the lowest millage rates in Georgia (14.87). Further cuts risk teacher positions, class sizes, and the district's financial stability — not the result of mismanagement.

The LHOST Expiration Timeline

2027
HB 30 exemptions begin — $3M/yr school cut starts
2028–2037
LHOST sales tax active — county tax relief funded
2038–2039
Sales tax ends. Exemptions continue. County absorbs full cost — unfunded gap.
2040+
Both programs expire. But school funding never recovered from HB 30.
The Bottom Line

HB 36EX is not a fix for what HB 30 does to our schools.
Georgia law prohibits LHOST proceeds from flowing to the school district.
The school funding gap is permanent. The LHOST relief is temporary. These bills don't balance each other out.

Sources: CCPS official financial analysis (Jan. 2025) • Georgia HB 30 (AS PASSED) • Georgia HB 36EX (Introduced) • O.C.G.A. Art. 2C, Ch. 8, Title 48