Decatur City Schools Grapples with Budget Shift Due to County Tax Refund Settlement
A possible settlement deal between Hexcel Corporation and the Morgan County Revenue Commission might lead to considerable financial impacts for the company.
Decatur City School System
According to legal documents, Hexcel faced an excessive tax burden imposed by the Revenue Commission for two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022. There are currently two unresolved agreements anticipated to amount to roughly $1.4 million, with potentially up to half coming out of the Decatur City Schools fund.
The settlement’s financial repercussions might extend widely into the future for Decatur City Schools, notably affecting their forthcoming budget plans.
“ irrespective of the amount in dollars, Decatur City schools will still be required to repay half,” stated Dr. Michael Douglas, the superintendent of Decatur City Schools. “we aim to safeguard our classrooms, however, we’ll need to adopt a budget with a shortfall.”
Dr. Douglas mentioned that he had just learned about the lawsuit and the prolonged settlement discussions. This revelation occurs during an crucial period for the educational system as they are currently formulating their budget plan for the upcoming year.
“I was surprised,” Dr. Douglas stated, “because we’re currently working on next year’s budget.” He continued, “With one or two years ahead of us, making certain choices would be feasible. However, with such short notice, the major issue became clear: we’ll simply need to use our reserve funds since we do have them available.”
The potential $700,000 payment that Decatur City Schools might have to make as part of the settlement has sparked queries regarding the equity of the distribution. According to Morgan County Revenue Commissioner Amanda Scott, the reasoning for this choice is that “any refunds would be issued according to the proportions in which distributions are allocated.”
Even though there is considerable financial pressure, Dr. Douglas calmed the community’s concerns that Decatur City Schools will not have to dismiss educators or reduce essential services. The district intends to manage the expenses by utilizing its savings.
I don’t generate revenue; instead, we offer services and educate kids,” explained Dr. Douglas, who also happens to be the city’s second-largest employer in Decatur. “My main wish is for everyone to remember this as we have submitted a motion to intervene.” He further notes that a ruling from the judge regarding their intervention request hasn’t been made public yet.
While no jobs are expected to be lost, Dr. Douglas noted how financial shortfall would impact teacher recruitment and class sizes. “Anywhere from 10 to 20 teachers is what you’re looking at. That’s a huge hit. You’re talking about class sizes going from manageable sizes to larger sizes. Obviously, individually, we would do it through attrition. I have over 50, 60 teachers retire every year or resign. So, nobody would lose their job. But we wouldn’t be able to hire back, which would increase class sizes,” he explained.
A spokesperson for Hexcel shared the following statement:
“Hexcel is pleased to have reached an amicable settlement with Morgan County on this longstanding issue related to past personal property tax assessments at our Decatur facility. Hexcel has no comment on how Morgan County decides to allocate the impact of the settlement.”