Jess St. Louis

Property taxes: your bill isn’t set yet. Here’s what to know:

Jess St. Louis · March 20, 2026 ·

A few weeks ago, homeowners got notices in the mail that our home values have gone up 50, 60, or even 100%. A lot of us opened that revaluation notice and felt our stomachs drop. You’re not overreacting.

Our county commissioners fought for us against this valuation, and appealed on our behalf, but Raleigh turned them down.

The state legislature is making you pick up the tab for corporations that don’t have to pay their fair share.

Here’s the key thing: your tax bill is not set yet. County Commissioners still have choices.

What the county can do about the tax rate

1) Keep the tax rate the same (Rate Neutral)
With higher home values, many bills would go way up, which would also give the county more money.

2) Lower the rate to keep revenue about the same (Revenue Neutral)
Even though the amount of money the county would raise stays the same, your actual bill may go up or down a little bit– but will be similar to what it is now. It also means no new money for schools or county services.

3) A middle option
Lower the rate somewhat to reduce sticker shock, while still bringing in money to cover things we need, like schools, emergency services, and county health services.

What other counties have done

In Durham, the County Commission made a Low-Income Homeowners’ Relief Program. They give up to $1500 in tax relief to people who live in homes they own who make up to 80% of the area median income (AMI) — with three levels. People who make less than 30% of the AMI get the most help.

Guilford County Chair, Skip Alston, told the Rhino Times that he is open to relief for people with incomes up to $50,000, rather than the $38,000 cap that exists now.

Why this is happening (it didn’t “just happen”)

People are right to be mad, but the anger should go in the right direction.

A few big reasons:

State rules can force the county to value your home early when the tax values are far from what houses are actually selling for.
NC doesn’t fund schools or other essential services enough at the state level, so counties are forced to lean hard on property taxes to fund needed services.
Corporations are taxed low, and property taxes are often a flat rate, so regular families can feel the hit the most.
AND now, as he faces a tough primary, Phil Berger proposed a 12 month pause on tax increases, to allow the general assembly to consider restricting local government’s abilities to levy property taxes– (while still refusing to properly fund our schools or social services)

If you need help right now

Tax–relief programs (income-based, seniors, disabled residents, disabled veterans):
- guilfordcountync.gov/tax, 336.641.3220 or [email protected]
Appeal your home value if it looks wrong: appeals.spatialest.com/nc-guilford
Appeal deadline: May 15, 2026. 5pm EST, but know that sometimes appeals come back higher than the original assessment, so it’s not a guarantee that your assessment will decrease

Corporate power plays a big role in rising costs. We can name it, and we can demand better.

Get involved to make change in our community with Guilford for All

What’s Next After the GCS Cafeteria Worker’s Strike?

Jess St. Louis · November 30, 2023 ·

This week, we saw over 250 cafeteria workers walk out of Guilford County schools to protest their unlivable wages and pressure the local government to give them a raise. The walkout lasted two days, and after meeting with district officials, they won a 4% total raise for School Nutrition Services Assistants and a 7% raise for School Nutrition Services Managers.

We saw an outpouring of support from the public — both online and in person. The overwhelming majority of people in Guilford County believe the cafeteria workers deserve more and stood with the workers. Some folks were understandably angry with their low wages, and with the impact the walkout had on kids at lunch time.

Multiple things can be true at the same time and often are. In this moment, these things are true:

1. Cafeteria Workers Deserve a Living Wage

They deserve to make enough to take care of their families’ basic necessities and much more. We all do. Currently, that is not what they have.

2. Worker Organizing Gets the Goods

We celebrate the workers’ win, the courage and organization it took to walk out, and the public support from people all over Guilford County who saw their injustice and agreed that it wasn’t right. It took the workers walking out for them to win the increases that they won. If they hadn’t said enough was enough and walked out, they would have won nothing. Organizing and action gets the goods.

3. School District and County Officials DO Have the Power to Make Some Change

And we must hold them accountable to do the things that are in their power to prioritize workers. The County Commission can raise their wages a little bit by cutting spending in areas some of us might think aren’t so crucial. But their main tools are raising taxes and shuffling money around from other critical and underfunded areas– robbing Peter to pay Paul. The School Board and School District leaders can’t raise any money at all, and their only tools are requesting money from other bodies and moving money around– and yet, a walkout made them exercise the power they do have.

4. The Real Money is in Raleigh and Washington

Our school funding comes from several sources but is mostly funded from our state budget. Even if every local elected official woke up daily thinking about what they can do to fight for poor and working people, the money they control would never be enough to fund the school system we deserve, including pay for staff. We live in a right-wing-controlled state with lawmakers that gave away billions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations instead of fully funding our schools. For example, the general assembly in Raleigh recently passed a law (SB406) that plans to give away public money to private schools across the state. Guilford County Schools stands to lose over $11 million once it goes into effect.

5. The Right Wing Sets Us Up to Fail

There are some extremists in power who want to divide us. Majority left-leaning County Commissions like ours are often under pressure to fill in the gaps left by state funding. Money that should be going to schools is lining corporate pockets, and when workers in counties with left leaning governments rightly demand more money, they target their local officials. When workers organize, those who seek to undermine public schools claim this is evidence that public schools are unruly, failing messes and right-wing legislators continue to starve school budgets while claiming that left-leaning urban leadership can’t run the schools effectively. It’s easy to place the bulk of our frustration on the targets we can hit — especially if they have room to improve — but let’s not fall into the right wing’s trap to divide and conquer us.

6. We Need to Elect Better People in Raleigh and Organize for the Long Term

2024 is around the corner, and while we are all thinking about the federal elections, we have an opportunity to get out the vote to replace the folks in Raleigh who are starving our schools!

Here’s how you can get involved

Attend Our Teach In via Zoom on Monday, Dec 4th from 7:00pm – 8:30 PM
Join a Public School Strong training
Come to Guilford for All’s New Year’s Day Social on January 1st
Volunteer with Us to Get Better People in Raleigh!
Vote for the Candidates we Endorse in 2024!
Join GCAE if you are a GCS employee

Freedom Summer Is Here!

Jess St. Louis · June 28, 2023 ·

by Ashante, Guilford For All Organizer In Training

Freedom Summer is here and Freedom Gatherings are now live! Neighbors joined together in solidarity Tuesday night in Guilford County for our first Freedom Gathering.

Folks took time to lean into others’ purpose for being at the Gathering and to connect. The root of many of the conversations were feelings of isolation, uncertainty, and lack of participation. Neighbors also discussed many of the harmful narratives that are spread across the country, ones like brokenness is mostly our fault, and you have to hustle to be rich. Neighbors made it clear that there are people who benefit from our struggles and there are things we can and will do to make collective change and dismantle these stories.

In the first half, we united through song, a freedom sound that echoed through the walls of the church. Ty, a chapter organizer with Carolina Federation, then led us through a powerful story of self starting with her initial hesitation one year ago, to what led to her saying “yes” to being a member of Guilford For All. Her mother hyped up the room with an emotional proclamation of her proudness and motivation to join in with her daughter. A triumphant story of frustration, self-discovery, and determination, Ty’s family is fired up to take collective action.

We highlighted our wins in Ole Asheboro the past year, such as getting the city to clean up dozens of bulk trash locations that had been rotting in the neighborhood for months and some over a year. We gathered around to uplift all the revolutionaries and freedom fighters who fought before us for voting rights, unions, public education and so much more. We welcomed family and friends near and far that inspire us to show up and to keep going. The fact of the matter is when we come together across the lines of differences, we can make real change.

At the home stretch, folks committed to bringing along more friends, family, and neighbors to join in on our next Freedom Gathering and take on future volunteer roles. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for!

Join us for the next Freedom Gathering!

Tuesdays, 5:30-6pm (Food) | 6-8pm (Gathering)
St. Stephen United Church of Christ in Greensboro
1000 Gorrell St.

June 27
July 11
July 25
August 8