Key Points:
▸ The Atlanta Board of Education unanimously approved a $1.85 billion FY2026 budget for the Atlanta Public Schools for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year on Monday.
▸ This year’s budget allocates an additional $45 million directly to schools, focused at the elementary school level.
▸ The budget cuts at least 135 positions from APS’s central office, saving $19.8 million.
▸ The FY2026 budget adds $26 million for employee benefits and $8.8 million for staff pay raises.
The Atlanta Board of Education unanimously approved a $1.85 billion budget for the Atlanta Public Schools’ 2025-2026 school year on Monday. That’s a very slight increase of 0.3% or about $5 million from the previous year. Of that, $1.29 billion is allocated to the APS general fund.
However, the board increased direct spending on schools by $45 million, or 2.4%, and pared back administrative spending by $19.8 million, or 1%. The additional $45 million in direct spending to schools is focused on elementary schools. Core classrooms funding will receive an additional $11 million, while fine arts, world languages, physical education, and athletics will receive almost $4.5 million in additional funding.
The $19.8 million reduction in administrative spending will come from cutting a net of at least 135 positions from APS’s central office, with more under review. The FY2026 budget adds $26 million for employee benefits and $8.8 million for employee pay raises.
The June 2 Board of Education meeting included time for public comment. Nathaniel Dyer, a designer and advocate, called on the board to take accountability for student achievement.
“I say you can have all the money in the world, but does it have soul to it?” Dyer said. “Does it reach the children?”
Traditional and charter schools
In FY2025, the APS system had 37,409 students enrolled in traditional schools, as well as 19 charter schools with 10,102 students. The APS general fund budget for FY2026 increases funding by 6.3% to $635.6 million for traditional schools and by 3.2% to $237.8 million for charter schools.
The trend of decreasing enrollment for traditional schools, while charter school enrollment increases is playing out in Georgia. Since 2015 for APS, traditional school enrollment has decreased by 16%, while charter school enrollment increased by 51%.
Federal funding cuts impact
Expected decreases in federal funding will affect APS. The Trump administration’s proposed FY2026 budget cuts $4.5 billion from Preserve Title I programs for school districts with a high percentage of students from low-income families and Streamline K-12 programs. Overall, the proposed federal budget, which is now before the U.S. Senate, cuts $10.75 billion in funding to the Department of Education.
Almost three-quarters of traditional APS schools receive Title I funding. APS is prioritizing funding for its Title 1 schools in response to the expected cuts in federal Title 1 funding by reallocating other funds, according to an APS email statement.
“APS remains focused on using available funds strategically to support equity and student success across the district,” APS said in an email. “As always, we explore every opportunity to maximize revenue, including partnerships, special revenue, etc.”
No increase in APS property tax rate
The proposed APS property tax millage rate for FY2026 is 20.5, which is the same as for FY2025. There will be more public hearings over the summer before the final vote, with dates to be announced later.
Millage rates are used to calculate property taxes, where the term “mill” refers to $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. The proposed 20.5 millage rate translates to a tax of $20.50 for every $1,000 of a property’s value.
The full APS budget for FY2026 can be found here. A summary version can be found here.
Want to see what’s in the city of Atlanta’s budget? A summary version can be found here.
This story is part of #ATLBudget, a civic engagement project in collaboration with the Center for Civic Innovation and other organizations. Together, we’re breaking down Atlanta’s budget process to show where your tax dollars go — and how you can help shape the city’s priorities. Follow #ATLBudget on Instagram and Bluesky for updates.
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