LEE COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) — [UPDATE: June 11 at 10 p.m.] The Lee County School Board voted unanimously to issue direct refunds to taxpayers impacted by the property tax overpayment issue.

Before voting on repayments, the board first officially accepted the adjusted rollback rate of 13.539 mills to correct the error.

“As we have explained many times previously, we as Board of Education set our budget using the total digest based on the fiscal needs of the district, not the rollback rate. If we had had this new number in September, we would have set our millage rate at 15.96 as communicated and held through public hearings.”

WATCH LIVE: Legal expert answers your questions about the direct refunds:

Before the vote, Trey Newell, who recently lost his re-election for District 3, called the conversation surrounding the issue disappointing.

“I have watched political games being played, false information spread on social media, and outright lies told about our schools. Those falsehoods have been perpetuated by anonymous social media profiles; some elected officials just a couple doors down, and even those individuals who as recently, as their last meeting, continue to take shots at the school system over taxes. Unfortunately, I’ve seen these things show up on the internet that only elected and appointed officials could have known about,” Newell said.

Board weighs refund options

After accepting the new rollback millage rate, the board then turned to the next question: should taxpayers receive direct refunds or a credit on next year’s bills?

“The public wants their money back. What you don’t understand, when you give your money back next year, you’re going to go through this whole thing with escrow again because you’re going to be overcharged to make up for the money you’re getting back. So, I don’t know if there’s a right answer. I think the public wants their money back.”

The board voted to move forward with direct refunds.

“Do I have a motion to approve a resolution to provide the difference in revenue between the erroneous rollback rate and the amended rollback rate based on the 2025 tax digest as provided by the Lee County Board of Tax Assessors Office as direct refunds to the taxpayers,” Claire Lang said.

Questions remain about when taxpayers can expect to receive their refunds, how the district plans to fund those repayments, and whether the money has already been budgeted or spent. Board members and Truitt did not take questions following the meeting.

[ORIGINAL ARTICLE:] The Lee County School Board is expected to discuss repayment options related to a tax error that caused residents to pay more than they should have. Their meeting is at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11.

The issue stems from what officials have called an error in the tax digest used to calculate the 2025 rollback rate. This led to homeowners paying higher property taxes than expected.

In May, the Board of Tax Assessors approved corrected PT-32 tax documents. The school system, which previously said it was waiting on official action before moving forward, now says it is working with the tax commissioner on a path forward.

Board members are expected to discuss possible repayment options on Thursday evening. Those options could include issuing refund checks directly to taxpayers or applying credits toward future tax bills.

The Lee County School Board meeting starts at 5:30 p.m.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, Instagram and X. For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.