The Oconee County Board of Education on Monday night officially adopted a property tax millage rate of 13.836 for 2026, down from 13.962 for 2025, but up slightly from the 13.813 originally proposed in May.
The adopted rate of 13.836 is the rollback rate, calculated to offset growth in the county Tax Digest due to reassessment of unchanged property. The Tax Digest is the total assessed value of property in the county.
The Tax Digest used for calculation of the rollback rate for Oconee County Schools is $4.056 billion, up from $3.802 billion in 2025.
The Tax Digest used for calculation of property taxes to fund county services in 2026 is $3.945 billion, or $110.7 million less than the Tax Digest used to calculate property taxes for Oconee County Schools.
The difference in the two Tax Digests results from the decision last year by the Board of Education to opt out of the floating homestead exemption designed to limit growth in the Tax Digest for homesteaded properties to the level of inflation.
The Board of Commissioners granted that exemption for homesteaded properties.
Based on the proposed millage rates for county services--4.124 in the unincorporated parts of the county and 5.154 in the county's four cities–about three-quarters of the total property tax rate goes to fund Oconee County Schools.
That ratio actually is higher for homesteaded properties, since the assessment of those properties is limited by the floating homestead exemption for calculation of county taxes but not for calculation of school taxes.
Monday Meeting
Peter Adams, Chief Financial Officer for Oconee County Schools, asked for Board action on the proposed millage rate of 13.836 for 2026 for Oconee County Schools as part of his financial reports to the Board on Monday.
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| Screenshot Adams At Podium 8/10/2026 |
"The Board approved the final expenditure budget and tentatively adopted a millage rate of 13.836 mills at the June 15th Board meeting,” Adams said.
“As the final tax digest has no changes from the Oconee County Tax Commissioner, Oconee County Schools recommends the full rollback millage rate of 13.836 mills, which is a decrease of 0.126 mills from last year's mill rate,” Adams said.
“The required advertisements were published in the school district website and social media accounts,” Adams said, “and it was published in the legal organ as required on July 2nd.” The Oconee Enterprise is the legal organ of the county.
“So all our requirements have been satisfied for the adoption of the final millage rate,” Adams continued, “and I ask and the superintendent recommends ratifying approval for the fiscal year ‘27 the full roll back millage rate of 13.836 mills.”
At the end of the meeting, the Board approved the millage rate without discussion. The vote was 4 to 0. Board member Brock Toole was absent from the meeting.
The Board had adopted a tentative budget in May based on a millage rate of 13.813 and an estimated Tax Digest of $3.917 billion. The budget showed $120.7 million in income from local and state funds and $122.5 million in expenses and was balanced by the withdrawal of $1.8 million from the Fund Balance, or reserves.
The budget the Board adopted after Tax Commissioner Jennifer Riddle revised the Tax Digest to $4.056 billion with a rollback rate of 13.836 mills shows $123.7 million in revenue and $122.5 million in expenses, with the $1.2 million in excess revenue being added to the Fund Balance.
Impact Of Tax Digest
The $4.056 billion Tax Digest for Oconee County Schools produces $56.1 million in local property tax revenue from the 13.836 millage rate adopted by the Board of Education on Monday.
Had the Board not opted out of the floating homestead exemption last year, the Tax Digest would have been $3.945 billion. That Digest, at the millage rate of 13.836, would have generated $54.6 million, or $1.5 million less what is generated with the higher Tax Digest figure and that same millage rate.
The Board of Education will not be able to opt out of the floating homestead exemption in the future, under current state legislation.
The Board of Commissioners, using the lower Tax Digest figure of $54.6 million, is scheduled to set the millage rate for county services at its meeting on Aug. 25.
Based solely on the millage rates of 13.836 for Oconee County Schools and the proposed 4.124 for Oconee County services in the unincorporated parts of the county, 77.0 percent of the total property taxes in the county are for Oconee County Schools.
That figure is 72.9 percent in the county’s four cities, for which the proposed millage rate is 5.154.
An individual homeowner’s property will be assessed at a higher value for the calculation of school taxes than for calculation of county taxes because the floating homestead exemption will be applied only for calculations of the county taxes.
That will make school taxes and even larger share of the taxes paid for homesteaded properties.
The Board of Education did not hold hearings on the adopted millage rate because, by state calculations, the millage rate of 13.836 is not a tax increase.
The county millage rate of 5.154 for the incorporated parts of the county is considered a tax increase, since it is higher than the rollback rate of 4.984.
The millage rate of 4.124 for the unincorporated parts of the county actually is lower than the rollback rate of 4.157.
The Board of Commissioners will hold a final hearing on that rate before its meeting on Aug. 25.
Other Board Reports
In his other financial reports on Monday, Adams told the Board that the General Fund Balance as of July 31 was $64.2 million, down from $69.0 million on June 30, and that Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) revenue for June were just less than $1.1 million, up 4.6 percent from June of last year.
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| Screenshot Yancey At Podium 8/10/2026 |
ESPLOST collections have been more than 4 percent higher than for the same month a year ago each of the last four months, and the July 31 ESPLOST Fund Balance was $13.4 million, up from $13.1 million on June 30, according to the report from Adams.
Kevin Yancey, Executive Director of Student Services, provided the Board with an update on safety procedures and measures for the beginning of the school year on Monday.
“Safety remains a top priority as we work to provide a safe learning environment for all students, faculty, and staff,” he said. “Our team continues to work closely with local law enforcement and first responders to evaluate and strengthen our safety practices across all 12 campuses.”
“In addition to our physical security measures, student wellness and support services are important part of our school safety plan,” Yancey said, citing the contributions of guidance counselors, schools nurses, school social worker.
Jennifer Whitaker, Chief Academic Officer, told the Board that the number of students at the system’s two high schools taking at least one Advance Placement (AP) exam was at its highest level ever in 2026 and the percentage of students scoring 3 or higher on one AP exam was down in 2026 from 2025.
Whitaker also reported results from the 2026 state Milestones testing, showing Oconee County Schools ranked first among county school systems in the state in four of 13 comparisons and second in another three.
Video
The video below is on the YouTube Channel of Oconee County Schools.
I was not able to attend the meeting, and the two still images used above are screen captures from the video recorded by Oconee County Schools.
Whitaker began her report at 19:32 in the video.
Yancey made his report to the Board at 25:17 in the video.
Adams made his report at 37:50 in the video.
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