Clayton County Faces Revenue Loss

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. -  

Clayton County school officials said the airport expansion is going to cost them millions of dollars.

School officials in Clayton County describe the economic situation they face as a perfect storm.

After losing students during its fight for accreditation and money from the economic downturn -- they now will lose an important part of the airport and the dollars that came with it.

A new airport rental car hub in College Park will not only move those businesses to a new area served by a train but take car rentals out of Clayton County and into Fulton County.

Clayton school officials said that it will take something else with it -- $5 to 7 million in taxes they say the district desperately needs.

"It would help us a great deal to alleviate a $13.9 million budget deficit," said Clayton School District spokesperson Charles White.

District officials said they are budgeting as if they won't receive that money from property and sales taxes from rental car row.

Airport officials said the relocation of Car Rental Row has been in the works for about a decade now, but they still expect Clayton County to benefit from it. They said the same expansion that spurred this move has encouraged the building the new hotels around Hartsfield Jackson.

In a statement -- the airport authority said "a great example is the two new hotels and office building opening soon at the Georgia International Convention Center, which is directly connected to the rental car center and the airport by the all new ATL SkyTrain."

The authority goes on to say those facilities and the tax dollars they generate will be in Clayton County but for now the district is scrambling to save money.

"We have already been frugal and responsible with our budgeting. We prepared those budgets based on revenue that didn't include those dollars," said White.

Clayton commissioners are still studying the impact of the move will have on the county. .

The new rental car hub is scheduled to open in November.