Georgia’s Building Boom for Data Centers Comes With a Cost for Schools: $300M

A report from Good Jobs First, a watchdog nonprofit that studies public subsidies, estimates that Georgia school districts will forgo about $300 million this year because of sales tax breaks given to large technology companies building data centers. The group puts the range of district-level losses between roughly $3.6 million at the low end in Newton County and $35.5 million in Gwinnett County, the largest district. The report also says exemptions from local sales taxes, which help pay for school construction, could total about $645 million this fiscal year, and a researcher says that figure is probably an undercount because local development authorities sometimes negotiate extra exemptions.

Responses varied. The state education department declined to comment, and Gwinnett did not respond to the reporter. A Cobb County spokesperson said the district has not seen effects from data centers, while a Cobb parent and watchdog co-founder argued that schools still bear a cost. A policy analyst noted that a new state cap on property tax collections adds to the strain. The report also cites University of Georgia research suggesting about 70% of the state's data center construction would have happened without the exemptions.

The article compares other places. Some districts, such as Effingham County, are working with developers and expect benefits, while Texas, West Virginia and Kansas examples show disputes over who receives the revenue. Loudoun County, Virginia, is described as a case where growth paid off because of a local tax on business equipment.