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School Board adopts budget of $2.1 billion By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com
DELANEY TARR/APPEN MEDIA
Members of the Friends of Bulloch, a nonprofit in Roswell dedicated to restoring Bulloch Hall, host the Magnolia Ball on June 10 to fundraise thousands of dollars for the historic building projects.
Friends of Bulloch Hall hosts annual fundraiser By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com DUNWOODY, Ga. — Organizers at the June 10 Magnolia Ball, hosted at Dunwoody Country Club said the 38th annual fundraiser brought in about $85,000 to help preserve and restore Roswell’s Bulloch Hall. The event, hosted by nonprofit the Friends of Bulloch Hall, raises funds
every year to pay off projects at Bulloch Hall, a historic home built in 1839 that is on the National Register of Historic places. This year, the organization targeted funds for plumbing, furniture, floor repairs and general cleaning. Friends of Bulloch also honored master carpenter Geoff Lambousis, who spent 30 years reconstructing Bulloch Hall and its pavilion, terrace, gazebo and pergola.
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Roswell budget carries $194 million price tag
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At the black-tie ball, attendees raised money by buying tickets and participating in a silent and live auction. Bids ranged from $50 to $3,000 on items from jewelry to inclusive vacations.
More photos inside ► PAGES 14-15 OPINION
Learn about Hembree Farm from Bob Meyers ► PAGE 20
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Fulton County School Board approved a $2.1 billion budget for the 2023-2024 school year at a June 6 meeting. That’s about a 31 percent increase from the current year’s overall $1.6 billion budget. The spending plan includes a 7.1 percent pay raise for all employees and goes into effect July 1. The raise is split into a permanent 5.1 percent pay raise for all eligible employees which will cost the school district $42.5 million. The board also approved a one-time 2 percent pay bump to help increase employee retention. The payment, which will cost $14.8 million, only applies to staff who were employed in 2022-2023. The budget is operating off a proposed millage rate of 17.24, but the countywide tax digest on property values won’t be available until later in the summer. Fulton County Schools uses a modified approach to zero-based budgeting to cut unnecessary expenditures. With the zero-based budgeting approach, the district has a 95.5 percent spending rate. The county predicts that at the end of 2024 the ending fund balance will be about $358,704,353. “This was a process that could have been extremely daunting, and you made
See BUDGET, Page 13