How much do Farragut and Knoxville residents pay for Knox County Schools? | Know Your Knox

Knox County has run its own public schools countywide since the city of Knoxville gave up its schools in 1986-87.

That means there are two separate municipalities within the county, Knoxville and Farragut, that roll up into Knox County Schools. Do do their taxes go into the same system?

The short answer is yes, though not directly. In fact, the city of Knoxville easily pays more than twice what the county and Farragut contribute, but Knoxville also has more schools and students than the other two.

How the budget is determined and who pays what is a bit more complicated.

Under a system developed through a series of referendums starting in 1965 and continuing through the merger of Knoxville city and county schools, voters decided to pay for schools through city and county sales taxes. The thinking was using sales taxes instead of property taxes would prevent substantial property tax increases as school costs increased over the years.

The city's and county’s sales tax rates are both 2.25% of every purchase made. Schools are funded with 72.2% of those dollars, per the referendums. This is above the 50% funding level required by state law.

That might not sound like a lot of money, but it adds up quickly. The school system took in $231 million from these dollars for fiscal year 2023. The figures were broken down like this:

• Knoxville: $158.5 million

• Knox County: $62.9 million

• Farragut: $9.6 million

In all, some 98% of the school system’s budget comes from three funds. We’ll use fiscal year 2024 projections to explain. As discussed, about $225 million comes from sales tax from the city, county and Farragut. The state provides $316 million and an additional $105 million comes from property taxes collected by the county, which all property owners pay.

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What about Farragut?

Farragut was incorporated in 1980 after Knoxville and Knox County’s agreements were made. Since Farragut is only a fraction of the size of Knoxville and Knox County, it provides the smallest portion of school funding. On top of that, Farragut funds the schools at 50% of its sales tax ? not the 72.2% figure Knoxville and Knox County use. Again, state law allows this.

There are two points of contention in this arrangement. One is that Farragut pays much less as a percentage and should pay more. The other is that Farragut has only four schools within the town, and that means the the amount spent per pupil there outpaces the amount spent on pupils at schools in both the city and county.

Knoxville pays the most but …

Some 70% of local sales tax dollars that go to pay for the schools comes from the city of Knoxville. This makes sense as the majority of the schools and students are within the city.

And while it’s true the city could attempt to reduce the amount it pays (state law only requires 50%, not 72.2%), it would likely take a ballot referendum, and selling voters on giving less money to schools is probably not a winning strategy.

Could Knoxville or Farragut ever separate their schools from Knox County?

The idea of the city or Farragut ever taking their schools and spinning them out of the county school system is not likely because the startup costs and expenses would almost certainly dwarf the $158.5 million (Knoxville) and $9.6 million (Farragut) spend each year on education.

Know Your Knox answers your burning questions about life in Knoxville. Want your question answered? Email [email protected].

Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Connect with Tyler by emailing him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @tyler_whetstone.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Farragut, Knoxville residents pay this much to fund Knox County Schools