Effingham Co. School Board slashes tax rate to 16.45 mills in unanimous vote

SPRINGFIELD, Ga. (WTOC) - The Effingham County Board of Education voted unanimously Monday morning to lower the school district’s millage rate to 16.45 mills, delivering another property tax rollback to local residents.

The decision represents a significant drop from the previous rate of 18.018 mills. Prior to that, the millage rate sat at 18.45 mills.

School officials said the deeper tax cut was directly funded by proceeds from the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority’s (ECIDA) recent land sale to artificial intelligence research company OpenAI.

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“By leveraging the proceeds from the OpenAI transaction, we are in a unique position to deliver meaningful tax relief to our community while maintaining our high standards of academic excellence,” Effingham County Schools Superintendent Dr. Yancy Ford said. “Our priorities remain supporting our educators and students, and easing the financial burden on our residents.”

The lower rate will apply to the 2026 property tax year.