Finance
FRANKLIN COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM FINANCE DEPARTMENT
Welcome to the Franklin County School System Finance Department site. This site is intended to provide information to school system staff, citizens, and other stakeholders. Financial policies and procedures are found in the documents section. Many of the forms employees need for various financial functions to include purchasing, travel, and payroll are found in the forms section.
Financial reports may be viewed in the documents section. These reports include our initial fiscal year budget, amended budget reports, other periodic reports, and our "financial dashboard" which provides a good overview of the most recent and current financial activity of the district.
The most recent audit report and previous audit reports may be accessed in the links section. Georgia Department of Education financial departments and other valuable resources are also accessible from the links page.
Press Release
School System Announces Public Hearing and Intentions To Opt Out Of Amendment 1/ HB 581 Floating Homestead Exemption
Carnesville, Ga. (December 20, 2025) In the November elections, Amendment 1/ House Bill 581 (HB 581) passed, creating a new statewide floating homestead exemption aimed at capping the annual increase on homesteaded properties based on the prior year’s inflation rate. The goal of this law is to benefit homeowners by providing lower and more predictable property tax bills. While the exemption may provide minimal relief for some homeowners with homesteaded properties, the application of this new law will have significant implications on the Franklin County School System (FCSS). Forty percent of the System’s budget relies on property tax revenues and capping these funds will affect the System’s ability to support student programs, hire personnel, and provide needed resources. The exemption artificially lowers property tax values resulting in reduced collections and at the same time shifts the burden onto new residents and properties in the county. This year over year reduction will have significant impacts and if it had been in place over the past 6 years, FCSS would have seen reductions in five of the last six years. These reductions would have resulted in a total decrease in funding of over $1.5M dollars.
Another unexpected consequence of the floating homestead exemption is how it will negatively impact the State Allocation for FCSS. Because the new exemption is considered a “local exemption”, the State legislative formula, used to fund schools, will not consider the floating homestead exemption reductions in their calculations. This means that the State will use the uncapped assessed value of all homesteaded property when calculating the System’s LFM (Local Five Mil Share) and Equalization funding. For the current year's budget, that would be an additional $40,000 reduction.
Lawmakers, recognizing the potential negative impact on schools, included an opt-out provision in HB581. Systems may exclude themselves from the exemption following a specific process, which includes holding public hearings and passing a resolution by March 1, 2025. This process ensures that the community is involved and can weigh the benefits of the exemption against the potential impact on FCSS.
All concerned citizens are invited to these public hearings on opting out of Amendment 1/HB581. These hearings will take place at the Franklin County Board of Education
Administrative Offices, at 280 Busha Rd. Carnesville, Ga at the following dates and times:
January 14, 2025 at 5:30 PM,
February 6th, 2024 at 5:30 PM
February 11, 2025 at 6:00 PM.
