Time to Apply for Homestead Exemption
If you purchased a home in 2011 as a primary residence (the home you live in full time) than its very important that you file for Homestead Exemption now. Homestead Exemption is simply a discount on your property tax bill for making that home your primary residence and practically everyone qualifies in Georgia.
If you can answer yes to the following two questions, than you qualify for the basic homestead exemption in your county:
- Are you a legal resident of the county?
- Have you owned and occupied the home since January 1, 2012?
If you answered yes to both of these questions… go ahead and apply. You only have to do this once! Your Homestead Exemption will renew automatically every year after this so you don’t have to worry about doing this if you have already done it in a previous year.
What’s the Deadline for Filing Homestead Exemption?
- In most counties, the application must be filed by March 1 of the year the exemption is sought, but some counties have a later deadline.
- In Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett County the deadline is April 1st.
How long will the Exemption last?
- The Homestead exemption will remain on the property until there is a change in ownership.
What is the Homestead Exemption Amount?
- These amounts are a reduction in what the amount that the taxed is based on.
As of January 2012:
Fulton County:
- $30,000.00 for Atlanta/Fulton
- More Information
Dekalb County:
- Depends on whether a property tax assessment freeze has been applied for.
- More Information
Gwinnett County:
- $10,000 for the County taxes
- $4,000 off of the school
- $7,000.00 off recreation
- $2,000 off of the state.
- More Information
Cobb County:
- $10,000
- More Information
How does this affect my bill?
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Example 2011 Cobb County Property Tax amounts:
- Market Value: $100,000.00
- Taxable Value (40% of Market Value): 40,000.00
- Less Exemptions (assuming $10,000) 10,000.00
- $50,000.00: Multiply by Millage Rate 0.03026. Property Tax $1,513.00
- Without Homestead Exemption the county property taxes would be $1,815.60.
To fill out the forms for Homestead Exemption in your County, simply click on the links above called “More Information” and follow the directions. If you have trouble or need help, give me a call.
Atlanta Public School Rezoning Meeting for SRT3 was Doozy!
Last night I attended the Atlanta Public Schools SRT-3 Community Meeting that presented the two revised options for rezoning that part of Atlanta Public Schools. SRT-3 is the northeast sector of APS and represents a lot of the Intown neighborhoods, including Morningside, Midtown, Virginia Highlands, Candler Park, Lake Claire, Inman Park, Old Fourth Ward, Grant Park, Ormewood Park and many others in the area. (See a Map of SRT 3). The first four options that were laid out called for a lot of change in SRT3 and Parents and Homeowners in these areas were very outspoken about how this rezoning process should look and how it would effect their neighborhoods.
After the Demographers gathered the feedback, and were dictated some new guidelines by the Superintendent, they went back to the drawing board and came up with 2 new options which were released last Friday night. They are conducting community meetings for each of the SRTs this week and last night’s was SRT 3.
This really was democracy at work to see all of these parents and residents of the various communities and school districts wearing giant bright green stickers on their shirts in protest of splitting Mary Lin, and posters and signs protesting changes for the students in the Old Fourth Ward, and lines at each microphone that went all the up the aisle with people just waiting to give the demographer consultants a piece of their mind. Whether they were just asking a clarifying question that they genuinely wanted answered, or had a prepared statement of protest on behalf of their whole neighborhood that they read from typed up documents, or just wanted to ask a sarcastic question intended to make the study seem poorly thought out or stupid…the people definitely came out to be heard. The comment that stuck in my head the most was a woman who got up and, in trying to make the point that she thought the new school zone lines were segregated and racist, compared this plan to Apartheid in South Africa in the 1970′s. That one may have been a stretch as I’m pretty sure that an elementary student in South Africa during Apartheid would be happy to trade places with any elementary school student in Atlanta today, but to her credit…everyone did perk up in their chairs at the comparison.
Many of the comments in this session were from Mary Lin parents who were apposed to the Grade Center Concept that Option B suggests in that Lin and Toomer would be combined school zones and split in some way by grade level between the two buildings. This would look like K-1 going to one school and 2-5 going to another…or some combination like that. The Lin parents were in general, very much apposed to that idea, and in favor of the Option A which had Mary Lin Elementary getting an expansion of 176 more chairs to ease the overcrowding.
There was a very large contingent of Old Fourth Ward parents and residents at the meeting who were for the most part angry with both options as both options have them suggesting to close either Hope or Cook. Hope is their Elementary school and currently feeds to Inman Middle School and Grady High School. The change would have the new Hope/Cook Elementary School feeding to either Coan or King Middle School, although it appears they would stay in Grady High.
All in all, I found the opening comments regarding the first round of feedback to sum things up very well, all though they were given tongue in cheek…He said that of the all of the feedback forms filled out an over 800 emails received regarding the first four option, that the vast majority of the feedback was in favor or keeping the status quo and against any change whatsoever. I had to laugh when he said that because isn’t that true with most change? The problem is…when you’re planning for the next 10 years, a change is necessary…not everyone is going to be happy and yes, the groups with the most influence and money are going to get their way. When we look at how Morningside and Springdale Park Elementary Schools, as well as Mary Lin except for Option B fared in these revised options, that is apparent. No one said life was fair, but I do have to hand it to everyone who came out last night to let their voice be heard…it was pretty cool to see democracy in action!
Wednesday night will be the SRT4 public meeting which I’ll be attending as well. SRT4 includes the Buckhead Area.
View the Official Revised Options A&B at the APS Website
New APS Maps and Options Posted
Just when I finish summarizing and contrasting the first four options…Here are the next two! APS just this evening posted the two new proposals for the rezoning of Atlanta Public Schools. I’ll have a breakdown summary of what these mean over the next several days, but take a look for yourself. The documents dated January 27th are the ones you need to read (and the maps are big files so they will take a while to download). Remember…these are the two proposals that the team of Demographers have put together based on the feedback from the four options that were put before the public back at the end of November, beginning of December of 2011. At first glance, its hard to say if these are any better, and meetings where these will be presented to the public will be held January 30 – Feb 2nd. At that point, more feedback will be solicited and a final recommendation will be made to the superintendence. Gotta love the drama! Please leave a comment with your thoughts! See the Revised Options A & B at the APS site.
How Does APS Rezoning Affect Morris Brandon Elementary Boundaries?
With the recent Atlanta Public Schools Demographic Study, and the 4 original options that have been proposed, many people have been left confused over how it will affect their school, their neighborhood, or their home search if they are looking for a home in particular school. While we talked about the expansions, construction of new schools and closing of other schools, it important to note that each of the plans calls for redrawing of the school lines. There is a great tool out there that a community member has created that maps out the changes to the elementary schools for each of the 4 APS options in Layers. Keep in mind that the official maps are located at the APS Demographic Study Website, but this tool is great. You can zoom in and out to street level and toggle between the layers of what the current school boundaries are and what the proposed boundaries are for each of the 4 options.
Here is a breakdown of how Morris Brandon Elementary Boundaries will look with each of the 4 options.
Option 1
- Mainly the whole neighborhood of Ridgewood Heights, Fernleaf and the part of Underwood Hills that was in Morris Brandon will now be attending Bolton Academy
- The rest of the school boundaries remain the same
Option 2
- Similar to option on, except that Ridgewood Heights will remain in Morris Brandon
- Fernleaf and the parts of Underwood Hills that are currently in Morris Brandon will be attending Bolton Academy
Option 3
- Rigdewood Heights, Fernleaf and the part of Underwood Hills that was in MB will remain in Morris Brandon
- The neighborhoods in the northeast corner of the current MB boundaries will be rezoned to Rivers Elementary. These neighborhoods are all of Arden/Habersham, Argonne Forest, Wyngate, and part of Peachtree Heights West.
- A small sliver of Peachtree Heights West will be rezoned to Garden Hills Elementary as well which will be the homes located between Cherokee Rd – Slaton and Peachtree as East West Boundaries and between W Wesley and W Paces Ferry on the North/South boundaries
Option 4
- This will be the same boundary changes as option 3 except it will rezone the small neighborhood of Channing Valley to Rivers Elementary from Morris Brandon.
Interactive Map of all 4 Options
Official Maps at APS Demographic Study Page
Interactive Map of all of the 48 Buckhead Neighborhoods
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Proposed APS Boundaries for Sarah Smith Elementary
Sarah Rawson Smith Elementary has enjoyed a stellar reputation in Buckhead as being among the best elementary schools, and property values have reflected that. So now with the Atlanta Public School Systems recent Demographic Study proposing 4 options to optimize its school enrollment, home owners, parents and students are certainly taking notice to see how the new change will effect them.
Currently, the northern half (approximately) of the Pine Hills neighborhood is districted to attend Sarah R. Smith Elementary. All four of the original proposed options have that northern section of Pine Hills redistricted to Garden Hills Elementary. These are the only apparent changes to the Sarah Smith Elementary School boundaries, but are sure to upset those living in that section of Pine Hills that got to go to Sarah Smith.
To see how all four options look and differ on a map, check out this really cool interactive map that a member of the community (I wish I knew their name to recognize them) took the time to put together. This map allows you to see the current school boundaries for all of the APS elementary schools and how that map will look if each with each of the 4 proposed options from the Demographers is implemented. Go to the APS Demographic Study page to see the “Official” maps, but keep in mind that these are just proposals and the committee will bring two or three new options before the public next week between January 30th and February 2nd based on the feedback of many, so all of this will likely look different then.
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Jackson Elementary School Boundary Lines Appear to be Unchanged in All 4 Options
The Atlanta Public School System’s latest Demographic study and preliminary proposals for redrawing school attendance boundary lines has been a hotly debated topic so far, and we’re only about half way through it now. The outcome of how the school boundary lines turn out could have serious implications for homeowners in the City of Atlanta both from resale value of their home as well as the parents’ perceived value of their children’s education.
Many homeowners and parents in Atlanta and Buckhead specifically, have lost sleep since the beginning of December when the 4 options for how the elementary school lines could be redrawn, but it appears that the Warren T. Jackson Elementary School lines have remained untouched in all four of the first proposals. Warren T. Jackson enjoys a very good reputation among public elementary schools and many home buying decisions were based on the home falling inside of Warren T. Jackson school boundary lines. For that to change could very possibly mean the drop in demand for the area and thus a drop in home values.
Next week, from January 30-February 2nd, the next round of the Demographic Study will be released and socialized among the community. The committee is expected to bring two or three new options to the meetings, based on the feedback they had gathered from the original four options, so everything could change, but all-in-all, it looks like Jackson parents and homeowners will likely be unaffected for the most part at least when it comes to Elementary School boundary lines.
If you’d like to see a great tool developed by a member of the community which shows layered maps of the 4 proposed changes, check out this site. You can toggle between layer for each option to see what the boundaries look like for each option. The Official Maps can be found at the APS Demographic Study site.
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Why are Atlanta Public Schools Rezoning?
APS E Rivers Elementary School Boundary Proposals
How Will APS Rezoning Effect E. Rivers Elementary?
The Atlanta Public School System’s demographic study and the four proposals brought forward by the Demographers suggests some real changes to how the boundary line maps will look for most of the public elementary schools in Buckhead, but perhaps the biggest changes will be those for E. Rivers Elementary. Here is a break down of how each of the four options appear to effect how the attendance boundary lines will look. Keep in mind though that on January 30th-February 2nd, the committee will bring back two or three new options based on feedback from these four options, so those may suggest boundary lines that are unlike all of these scenarios.
Option 1
- Any Neighborhoods West of Northside Drive that now attend Rivers will be rezoned to Bolton Academy. This includes includes Berkeley Park and the Part of Underwood Hills that attends E. Rivers now. (This is consistent in all 4 options)
- Loring Heights will be rezoned to Centennial Place
- There is an area that is currently zoned for Morningside Elementary that is proposed to now be e. Rivers. The area consists of the following streets just south of Lindridge-Martin Manor: Liddell Dr, Manchester St, Bismark Rd, Rockledge Rd, Lambert Dr and Squire Pl.
- Lindridge-Martin Manor will go from Garden Hills to E. Rivers
Option 2
- Any neighborhoods west of Northside Drive that now attend Rivers will be rezoned to Bolton Academy. This includes includes Berkeley Park and the Part of Underwood Hills that attends E. Rivers now. (This is consistent in all 4 options)
- Loring Heights will be rezoned to Centennial Place
- Peachtree Heights East will now be part of E. Rivers instead of Garden Hills Elementary
- The Section of Garden Hills South of E. Wesley will be rezoned to Rivers
- Half of the Lindbergh/Morosgo neighborhood from Sidney Marcus south will go to Rivers leaving the half north of Sidney Marcus in the Garden Hills Elementary District
Option 3
- Peachtree Heights East will be rezoned to E. Rivers from Garden Hills
- A small corner of Peachtree Hills from the Peachtree Hills Park to Lindbergh (on Peachtree Hills Ave) along with Garson Dr and Lindbergh Place will be rezoned to the New Northside School.
- Wyngate, Arden/Habersham and Argonne Forest will be rezoned to E. Rivers from Morris Brandon
Option 4
- Channing Valley moves from Brandon to Rivers
- Brookwood Hills and Peachtree Hills are removed from Rivers and zoned for the New North Side School
- Wyngate, Arden/Habersham and Argonne Forest will be rezoned to E. Rivers from Morris Brandon
Interactive Map of all 4 Options
Official Maps at APS Demographic Study Page
Interactive Map of all of the 48 Buckhead Neighborhoods
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APS Garden Hills Elementary New Boundary Lines Proposals
We’ve been studying what the Atlanta Public Schools Demographic Study and specifically, the proposed new boundary lines for each of the four options would mean to Buckhead Schools. Of the five Buckhead Elementary Schools, Garden Hills will be one of the most effected and when looking at the maps of how each option would potentially change the attendance boundaries…the new Garden Hills boundaries are pretty complex. Here is an attempt to clarify what each of the 4 options would mean to your neighborhood if you are in the Garden Hills School District currently:
Option 1
- Lindridge Martin Manor will be redistricted to E. Rivers Elementary
- The rest of Pine Hills will be added to Garden Hills so that the entire neighborhood of Pine hills will attend Garden Hills Elementary instead of being split between Smith and Garden Hills (this is the same for all 4 options)
Option 2
- Peachtree Heights East will now be part of E. Rivers instead of Garden Hills Elementary
- The Section of Garden Hills, south of E. Wesley, will be rezoned to Rivers
- Half of the Lindbergh/Morosgo neighborhood from Sidney Marcus south will go to Rivers leaving the half north of Sidney Marcus in the Garden Hills Elementary District
- The northern part of Pine Hills that was in Sarah Smith will now be in Garden Hills
Option 3 (take a deep breath and concentrate)
- Here we have the introduction of the “New Northside Elementary School”
- The rest of Pine Hills that was Sarah Smith will now be Garden Hills (all options reflect this)
- The East-West Divider of Peachtree Heights East and Garden Hills, South of E. Wesley, is Acorn Ave. All of Peachtree Heights will be in Rivers Elementary and the portion of the Garden Hills Neighborhood that is south of E. Wesley and East of Acorn will go to the New Northside School.
- Lindridge Martin Manor will be redistricted to the New Northside School
- Half of the Lindbergh/Morosgo from Sidney Marcus south will go to the New Northside School leaving the half north of Sidney Marcus in the Garden Hills Elementary District
- The part of Peachtree Heights West (West Side of Peachtree) that is north of W. Wesley and South of West Paces Ferry, and East of the Cherokee and where it turns in Slaton, will now be part of Garden Hills.
Option 4
- From a Garden Hills Elementary Boundary perspective, this appears to be exactly the same as Option 3
Interactive Map of all 4 Options
Official Maps at APS Demographic Study Page
Interactive Map of all of the 48 Buckhead Neighborhoods
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Why are Atlanta Public Schools Rezoning?
With Atlanta Public Schools’ demographic studies and redistricting options being the heart of much debate lately, a questions that has not been answered clearly is Why are they doing this…what’s the point? So here is a quick explanation of the purpose for all of this which I think is important to talk about before diving into how different parts of Atlanta are directly affected by it
Atlanta Public Schools (APS) has been very good about making all of the information on their studies available to the public so I want to compliment them on that as this is an issue that not only effects parents and the children of the schools involved, but any homeowner or future homeowner, and really all of the businesses that rely on those residents in the area as customers and employees. Check out their site for detailed information on the APS 2011-2012 Demographic – Capacity Study.
So Why Now?
The study coincides with the release of the 2010 census data and much of the data used by the Demographers was gathered from the census. The census is done (as we all remember from elementary school) every 10 years so these plans and districts take into account the changes between 2000 and 2010, and the new districts aim to accommodate Atlanta Public Schools for the next 10 years. One main reason for the redistricting and the proposals laid out are the misalignments that have developed over the last decade between areas of growth and the location of schools in Atlanta. I saw one statistic that had APS capacity at 62,000 students while the average enrollment was around 49,000. So while some schools in certain areas are over crowded do to population growth, other schools are under-utilized. This is the main reason behind why APS needs to address this issue. Read more
