Columbia County school board approves tax hike | The Augusta Chronicle

Property taxes will rise in Columbia County this year after initial approval of a 1-mill tax hike by the Board of Education.

On a 4-1 vote Tuesday, trustees agreed with a recommendation by School Superintendent Charles Nagle for a tax increase that amounts to roughly $40 per $100,000 in assessed property value. They also agreed to eliminate 20 custodial jobs.

“Even raising this budget by 1 mill is balancing this budget on just what we can get by with,” Nagle said during a budget hearing prior to the board session.

Years of state budget cuts, coupled with the county’s rising student population, had the school system facing an $11.5 million deficit when the budget process started, Nagle said. After taking nearly $7 million from the system’s reserve fund, school officials had to find an additional $4.6 million to balance the nearly $178 million budget.

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