DEKALB, Ga. — For the last 29 years, voters in DeKalb County have supported education by voting “yes” on a 1% sales tax known as a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST.
The money was supposed to be distributed between DeKalb County School District, Atlanta Public Schools and City Schools of Decatur.
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However, DeKalb County Schools has been collecting millions in sales tax funding, leaving APS and CSD with far less than what they were owed.
The SPLOST distribution percentages, approved by all three boards of education in March 2022, were as follows:
- DeKalb County School District: 90.44%
- City Schools of Decatur: 5.45%
- Atlanta Public Schools: 4.11%
A spokesperson for the DeKalb County School District admitted APS and CSD got far less than they should have, and DeKalb is now trying to figure out why.
James Herndon, a City Schools of Decatur Board member said the board had been asking state officials about the missing money for the last three years. He said DeKalb told them they were using the wrong formula to calculate.
Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes sat down with Georgia state Sen. Emmanuel Jones, who said he believes this was more than a mistake, deserving a full forensic audit to see who changed the formula all three schools agreed upon.
“DeKalb County Schools has been collecting SPLOST for a couple of decades,” said Jones. “And there hasn’t been any dispute between the school systems.”
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The month before the distribution percentages were agreed on, DeKalb School Board members fired superintendent Cheryl Watson Harris. Jones said this period of transition and turmoil may have been a factor in this oversight.
A spokesperson for DeKalb County Schools said they’re working with the state Department of Revenue to figure out how much they owe, which could be up to $13 million.
Sen. Jones said it’s the students that suffered the last four years.
“Maybe a roof in the school system may not get repaired, its delayed, and when you don’t have the money and resources in the budget, of course its an impact the school system,“ Jones said. ”This is millions of dollars."
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