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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.

Last Wednesday, Guilford For All’s education campaign concluded with a win of an additional $12.3 million for schools organized through collective action to move the County Commission. This followed a campaign climax on June 5th where 42 of our members marched through downtown Greensboro alongside our partners at the Guilford County Association of Educators (GCAE), and held a powerful rally outside the old county courthouse just before filling the County Commission public hearing with our stories on why we need more education funding.

Our campaign started just back in March when 68 Guilford For All members came together and voted on a campaign to support GCAE in the fight for a 2 cents per 100 dollars property tax that would raise $14 million for necessary school staff raises and address the staffing crises in the county.

Our first action was our powerful presence at the County Commission Budget Town Halls on April 1st and April 7th, where we showed up and showed out, challenging the County Commission to meet the needs of our kids. We showed our mass of green shirts and let the commissioners know that we demand creative solutions to find this money, and that it’d need to happen now.

Second, we shifted away from a property tax as a main means for generating income to pay for staff raises based on feedback from our community. We shifted our focus towards a solution raised by commissioner Frankie Jones (District 7) to reallocate tax surplus sitting in the county’s bank account towards addressing this funding crisis now.

Throughout May, we took to the streets and canvassed at events and parks across the county, organizing other neighbors concerned with strong schools for our kids. We invited folks into joining our movement and stepping up to share their stories to the county commission.

A week before June 5th, 27 members organized a Community Huddle for Education where we made signs, wrote letters, and even painted a cardboard school bus together to make our march to the June 5th Budget Hearing that much more powerful.

On June 18th, the County Commissioners announced that they recognized the hard work we put into organizing the community to fight for more school funding. In a 7-2 vote, the majority of commissioners used both the aforementioned tax surplus reallocation and a slight property tax increase to raise $12.3 million, with an incredible $3 million earmarked specifically for the hardworking classified staff that keep the schools running.

Following the hard work of our campaign team and member leaders, G4A has scored another victory for working folks in the county–both for the Guilford County Schools Staff who support our communities but also the kids that are the future of our county.

This fall, G4A takes aim at another powerful Municipal Election season and next year we’ll continue organizing for education funding in an important property re-evaluation year. Our continued wins and growth are from the work of determined community leaders who stepped up because no one else would, and if you are interested in stepping into your leadership too, sign up for a conversation here!